A Whole New World
by Shadowstalker92
Summary: The first of the four part story of Poketha. Join 18 year old Alexander Jones as he shipwrecks on a country populated by anthropomorphic Pokemon. Follow him as he makes new friends and faces the a tough choice: Find a way home or stay and start a new life
1. Ch 1: Troubled Waters

_**Chapter 1: Troubled Waters**_

_A young soot-covered boy of only 10 slowly walked through the remains of his room. The smell of burnt plastic and charred wood hung heavily in the air. Twisted remains of his toys and bits of clothing scattered the shell of where he spent his childhood. He stumbled around in shock as he tried to find anything that he could save from what little he had left. _

_ He gathered up a few piece of clothing and a stuffed animal that was slightly damaged and put them in a plastic grocery bag. Everything else he had could not be saved. He walked down the hall to the living room, or what was left of it._

_ The carpet squished under his feet; soaked from the fire fighters hoses. A burnt couch and recliner seemed as it something had just tossed the remains carelessly aside. He stepped out into the sun. His eyes aimlessly scanned the burnt and barren pine trees that made up the forest that surrounded his trailer._

_ The only casualty was a year old cat that failed to escape in time. Ironically, her name was ashes due to the smoky grey color of her fur. He knew she was in a better place. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he looked at the smoldering remains of his home before he turned away and left._

Alex shook his head and looked out to the horizon. The memory of the forest fire that took his home was one of the many that would forever haunt him. From up above, sea gulls were cawing as they floated on the air currents. Alex watched them for a few minutes. Thinks were getting to be too much back at home so he decided to take his boat sailing for a week or two. Upon thinking about the fire, Alex found himself thinking about some of the other hardships he faced.

_He was 13 years old; riding in his dad's truck as they made their way back to their home. They had evacuated when a category 4 hurricane was going to slam right into the state of Louisiana. They fled to Alabama where they only got some strong storms._

_ As they rode back, the damage became apparent. Trailer homes were sliced in half by fallen trees. Roofs were torn from homes. Some houses were gone completely while others miraculously remained untouched. Alex's trailer was one of those that held strong._

_ But it wasn't just the damage he saw personally that shook him. It were the images he seen on television. One that he would never forget was of a middle-aged woman walking through waste deep water. Behind her, she floated a door on which carried her dead husband covered in an old bed sheet. The woman cried and pleaded for help, but no one answered her._

_ Even though Alex never lost anything in this disaster; it made him thankful for what he had. It seemed like every time that you took what you had for granted, something like this would happen and you either lost everything or were able to carry one. It were times like these that reminded Alex how fragile life was and how quickly everything you ever had or everyone you ever knew or loved could be taken from you._

Alex sighed and looked out over the water as his boat rocked lazily with the waves. The constant motion combined with the sound of the water lapping against the boat's hull almost lulled him into a trance-like state. Alex got up and stretched his legs before making his way inside the living space the boat had.

Alex loved his boat. It was a Sealine F43 motor yacht. He was surprised that he had gotten such a good deal for it seeing as nice of condition it was in. It had enough living space for three to four people to live comfortably, though Alex didn't have many friends that he often took sailing with him.

He loved the fact that he could just go out for the weekend and live on his boat. In fact, Alex was pretty sure he lived on his boat more than he lived at his house. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made his way up to the boat's controls.

He checked his position. Since he had the time to do so, Alex planned on sailing put over the ocean for a week before he would turn back and head home. He was heading at a slow speed, only about 15 knots, and was heading east southeast. He thought maybe about stopping in Florida, but he decided he would just go past it. For right now, he was just cruising through the South Atlantic.

He made a slight adjustment to the direction he was drifting before making his was back down to the living quarters. He stretched out on his bed and stared at the ceiling. After about ten minutes, Alex drifted off into a restless sleep.

_He was speeding along on his friend's motor scooter on sunny day. He was minding his business just zipping down the back roads near his house. He thought it was funny how it was considered a scooter or moped…it went faster than 50 miles per hour. Legally, it would have been considered a motorcycle in some states._

_ Alex was just going along, having a blast. There were several intersections along the road but he didn't have to worry about stopping. The stop signs were for the cars that would be crossing the road. It had been a while since Alex had been on the back roads and he did not realize that the last intersection was actually a T-stop and that he had to stop. He made his way at a rather quick 55mph...pushing the bike to its limits._

_ As he approached the "T" a car came out of nowhere. The last thing Alex remembered thinking was: "Fuck, this is gonna hurt." He was unable to avoid a collision and slammed into the side of the car going 50. _

_ He wasn't sure if he blacked out as he flew through the air or if it was his helmet being pulled off by the force of the impact that blocked his vision temporarily; but all he remembered seeing was the side of the car, the sky filtering through the trees above, then the grass on the side of the road._

_ As soon as he came to a stop, Alex immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the bike which had begun to rev-up wildly. He shut it off and that's when it sunk in that that had really happened. _

_ The driver of the car he hit raced over to see if he was alright. Alex nodded as he sat down on the side of the road where he had landed. He glanced over at the car and saw how much damage he had done. _

_ Apparently he had swerved a little and avoided a direct collision. He hit the car right at the left front tire. The force spun the bike causing the back of it to slam into the back left passenger door, caving it in majorly. This is what threw him off the bike. At that "second" impact, his head had swung back and busted out the window of the door. That was the force that caused his helmet to rip off._

_ The EMS and police arrived moments later. After doing a brief examination of him, one of the paramedics told Alex that even though he had no major visible injuries, they still recommended that he went to the hospital, thought it was his choice to go or not._

_ Alex knew he didn't have a lot of money, and a trip to the hospital to be told he was fine would result in bills he couldn't afford. He refused the ride to the hospital and signed a form stating that he chose not to go. The EMS then attended to the driver of the car, who thankfully wasn't injured, just a little shaken up._

_ The officer that arrived talked to Alex. While waiting for the cops and EMS to arrive, it was then that he noticed the stop sign that he ran. So when the officer asked him for a description of what happened; he didn't hide anything.  
"I didn't see the stop sign till it was too late. The wreck was my fault and I take the blame for it."_

_ "Well, you are receiving this ticket for failing to stop at the stop sign. Please go to the courthouse by the date listed and pay it off." The officer told him handing him a slip of paper. Alex took the ticket and gathered up the remains of the motorbike and limped home pushing the bike along._

_ From he own diagnosis, Alex had received no more than a fist sized bruise on his right arm, a large black bruise that covered most of his left outer thigh where he hit the road, some scrapes on the side of his right leg, a few scratches on the back of his neck, a sprained left wrist and a possible fracture in his left thumb._

Alex woke up sweating. The memory of his accident was the most recent thing that had happened to him. To this day, he still didn't know how he walked away with such few injures that he did. Someone must have been watching over him that day.

"Man, I was a reckless kid growing up." He said to himself.

He got up and stretched before clicking on the radio. He could help but notice it was getting rather dark outside. Did he really sleep that long? As he started to make himself something to eat, a special broadcast came across the airways.

_"We have a severe storm warning in effect. Any crafts in the following areas are asked to seek shelter and find a place to anchor down ASAP."_

They began giving a list of coordinates. Alex checked his own position. He was in one of the areas, and from what they were claiming; the worst of it was heading right for him. Alex sprang into action.

He raced up to the controls and began scanning the horizon. A large storm front was moving rather quickly towards him. Dark, ominous clouds blackened the sky. Alex grabbed his looking scope and began searching for any placed he might be able to hold up and ride out the storm.

In the distance, he spotted a large piece of land. Grabbing the wheel, he revved the engine and began heading towards land at full throttle. For thirty minutes, it seemed that he might just stay ahead of the storm. Suddenly, the winds picked up and the storms speed increased surprisingly.

Alex found himself in a race for his life with the storm. As he sped closer, the bit of land began to grow. It went from being a small outcrop to a fair island. Then to a large landmass. Was it a country? He didn't know. All Alex knew was that he has to reach land before the storm hit.

As he grew even closer to shore, the storm blew around him. Large waves rocked the boat and savage winds seem to push the boat where they wanted. Alex was about eight miles out when his boat hit something massive. Apparently the wind and waves had pushed him into a coral reef shelf and he had run aground on it.

Another large wave drug the boat along the coral. Deep grating sounds emanated from below the hull and Alex knew that the situation wasn't good. The engines stalled. Cursing, Alex started to climb down to the deck level. As he did, a massive wave hit the side of the boat with a tremendous force. Alex felt himself go momentarily weightless before he came crashing down onto the deck. Before he could stand, another large wave hit, tilting the boat onto its side.

A dazed Alex found himself in the churning waters with no life jacket on. He had no option. He would have to swim for it. Almost instantly, the currents began to drag him along at an alarming rate. Several times he was drug under and smashed into the reef.

Alex struggled to stay above water but to no avail. His lungs burning and mind spinning, Alex started to fell detached form the world. Everything started to go cold and dark. It wasn't long before everything faded into nothingness.

_Memories of his life began to flash by. The fire, the hurricane, the wreck. They were not the memories that hit him the hardest. Sitting with his brother by a campfire, helping his dad fix the truck, and fishing with a few close friends were the ones that made the deepest cuts. Alex knew that this was the end…that he was not going to survive. _

_ The thought of those he was going to leave behind hit him as well as the thought of the things he wanted to do with his life also came to mind. But all were but mere images in the black void that Alex found himself surrounded in._

"Hey, are you alright?"

The voice seemed faint and distant.

"Come on, get up."

This time the voice was stronger…louder…closer.

Alex groaned and tried to move. Somehow, he managed to roll over onto his back. There was a figure kneeling over him. He could not make out any feature for the being was silhouetted by the sun behind them.

"Get down here to the beach, now!" the voice said in a panicky tone. "It's an emergency! HURRY!"

Alex tried to talk, but he could only mumble.

"Don't worry." The voice said. "Help is on the way."

Alex whole body ached. He struggled to stay awake, but was slipping in and out of consciousnesses. The last thing he remembered hearing was the voice.

"Come on…stay with me…COME ON!"

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Discovery**_


	2. Ch 2: Discovery

_**Chapter 2: Discovery**_

_Amanda Pyres was a young girl of 8. She loved going on walks down the beach near her house with her father. Her dad always said that ever since she was born, she had him wrapped around her little finger. He would do anything to keep her happy. Then, that day happened. That terrible day that changed her life forever._

_ She was playing in the living room with her big brother while her mom sat on the couch tending to her little brother. Her dad was on his way home from work and would be home in a few minutes. But the minutes ticked by and he didn't arrive. After the first 30 minutes, their mother had just assumed he had met up with a friend and would be home shortly; but even if that was the case, he would have called to tell her that he would be running late._

_ After the first hour went by, her mother started to get worried. There still was no word from their father. She tried calling him several times but he was not answering his phone. Deep down, their mother knew that something was wrong._

_ Just after the second hour, there was a knock on the door. Their mom got up to answer it. After a few minutes, they heard her screaming and crying. Amanda ran to the door behind her brother. They found their mother sitting in the floor sobbing hysterically; a police officer knelt by her trying to comfort her while another stood in the door way. _

_ They had just told their mom words that she hoped she wouldn't have to hear. Her husband was on the way home when he was in a terrible car accident. He was pronouncing D.O.A. by the time the paramedic arrived to the scene._

Amanda sat in her windowsill; her arms were crossed over her knees shielding her face from the world. She looked up out the window and the rising sun, rubbing her eye as she did. It was the 9 year anniversary of her father's passing; something she had never fully gotten over. She would never forget the way her mother acted when the two police officers arrived at their house and told her the tragic news.

She sniffed again before getting up. Stretching, she made her way to her desk. She pulled out her diary and flipped it open to the next empty page. She grabbed a pen and started to write.

_April 5__th__, 2283_

_ Today it the 9 year anniversary since dad was killed. There isn't a day that goes where I don't think about him or about how it would be were he still here. _

_ I know mom took it hard and I know she is still mourning him like I still do. All my friends tell me that I should stop living in the past, but they don't know how it feels to lose a loved one like the way I did._

_ I tried not to stay up late last night thinking about it but the heavy storm we had did not help me sleep any. Maybe after breakfast, I will go for a walk on the beach. That always seems to calm my nerves some…_

Amanda sighed before she closed her diary and tucked it away in the top drawer. She got up and made her way down the hall. It was a Saturday and she didn't really have anything to do that day so she didn't know why she was up so early. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Her mom, Lavender, was making breakfast.

"Morning, dear." Her mom said when she walked in.

"Morning." She replied.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not really." She admitted. "That storm was pretty strong."

"Yes it was. I woke up a couple of times. I'm surprised your brother didn't come running into my room when it hit."

"Speaking of him, where is the little pup at?"

"He should be in the den watching cartoons."

Amanda made her way to the den. Her mom was right. Ryan was sitting on the couch watching cartoons. He smiled happily when she entered the room.

"Hey Ammy." He said. "Are you gonna watch some cartoons with me?"

"I guess so." She said sitting down on the couch next to him.

"Yay!" he cheered happily bouncing up and down in his seat.

Ammy only pretended to watch, however. She thought the shows her brother watched were rather annoying and kinda kiddy. Her mind wandered elsewhere. She only came to her senses when her mother's voice called from the kitchen.

"Kids! Breakfast!"

"YAY! Breakfast time!" Ryan shouted happily as he jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Ammy got up and followed him. Their mother was setting the table and getting it ready. Once it was set and they had taken their seats, she put their plates in front of them.

"Thank you, Mommy." Ryan said.

"Yea, thanks mom." Ammy added. Lavender just smiled.

"You two are very welcome." She said patting them on the backs before she poured herself a cup of coffee and started cleaning the kitchen. Ammy quietly ate her food. When she was done she got up and set her plate beside the kitchen sink.

"Finished, dear?" her mom asked. Ammy nodded.

"Yea, thanks. It was good." She replied.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it."

Ammy made her way up to her room. She got dressed into a light shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She then grabbed her MP3 player and made her way back downstairs. As she slipped on her shoes, he mom came into the den.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." Ammy told her.

"Okay, sweetie. Just be careful."

"I will."

Once outside, she put on her head phones and set her MP3 to random before she made her was down the walk. She began making her way up the street. The sun was up now. Not many people were out. It was still a little early and most people were probably sleeping in.

She walked a couple of streets before she turned off down a shortcut that led to the beach. Ammy liked living close to the beach. She could go there whenever she wanted. The trail was a little muddy due to the rain they had received the night before and she took the time to avoid as many puddles as she could.

About ten minutes later, she found herself on the shoreline. The gentle breeze and the smell of the ocean wafted around her. She was right. Going to the beach for a walk would calm her down and get her in a happier state of mind.

As she made her way up the beach, Ammy noticed a lot of seaweed clumps were washing up in the waves. It always happened after they had a big storm. She couldn't help but stop and pick up a big seashell that she spotted. She removed her shoes and walked in the surf. She loved the feel of the water gently lapping at her feet.

It wasn't long before Ammy began to notice a few small pieces of driftwood; which was also commonly washed up after a big storm. She stopped when one of the bits of wood caught her attention. It wasn't like a typical piece. It was more like that from a boat.

She picked it up and turned it over in her hands. It definitely wasn't made of wood. It looked like a bit of a boat's hull. She looked around and saw more bits of the same material. She began looking out in the water to see if she could spot the source of the debris. A little further up the beach, she spotted something odd floating in the water. The waves were carrying it to land.

As it came to rest on the sand, Ammy got a chilling sensation in the pit of her stomach and against her better judgment; she slowly made her way towards the object. As she got closer, she began to make out details and features.

It had an odd shape and looked more organic than man made. As a light wave washed over it, bit of material that clung to the thing shifted lightly. Clothing...it was something wearing clothing! That's when she realized it was a person. She ran over as fast as she could to see if she could help them.

She was stunned to see that it was a human. They have had humans come through their town before. In fact, the drunk driver that had killed her father was a human. But Ammy thought she would never get up close and personal to one.

The figure was a young man, which looked close to her age, maybe a little older. He was lying face down. His limp body shifted lightly in the surf. She grabbed him by the arms and dragged him carefully out of the water and up the beach.

"Hey…are you alright?" she called out, shaking him lightly. He didn't respond. She shook him a little harder. "Come on, get up.!" Again, no response. He looked like he was dead. His clothes he was wearing were torn and shredded.

Ammy could clearly see that he had several bad injuries including large lacerations on his arms and legs like he was pulled along the reefs. She didn't know what to do. She pulled out her phone and called mom. She use to be a nurse, she would most likely be able to help.

As the phone started ringing, the young man groaned and rolled over. He was still alive!

Ammy knelt next to him as her mom's voice came across the phone.

_"Hey Amanda."_

"Mom, you need to come quickly. There is this guy that washed up on the beach. He is injured and badly!"

_"Wait, what?"_ her mom asked. _"Tell me what happened."_

"Mom, there isn't time!" Ammy replied. "Get down here to the beach, now! It's an emergency! HURRY!"

_"Okay! I'm on my way!"_ her mom replied before hanging up. Ammy looked down at the man. He breathing was labored and sounded kinda painful. His eye fluttered open and he mumbled lightly, but she couldn't understand what he said.

"Don't worry." She said, hoping to provide some comfort to him as well as herself. "Help is on the way."

It seemed that he was struggling to stay alive. He kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Ammy grabbed a hold of his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Come on…stay with me…COME ON!" She cried out. His hand fell from hers and he went limp. She shook him but he didn't respond. Suddenly, shouts from up the beach caught her attention. Her mother was running up the beach as fast as she could. She slid to a stop beside them.

"What's going on?" he mom asked somewhat panicked.

"I don't know." Ammy replied. "I was walking along the beach when I started seeing what looked like pieces from a boat. Then he washed up. He was breathing a second ago."

Lavender ripped off the remains of the young man's shirt and tilted her head to his chest.

"He's not breathing." She said.

"Oh my God…what do we do!" Ammy asked panicked stricken. Lavender kicked into actions. She pinched his nose off. Locked mouths with him and breathed deeply. She then began chest compressions.

"One one thousand…two one thousand…three one thousand…" she began counting off. Once she hit "ten one thousand" she breathed into him again. She repeated this step several times.

"Come on, damnit." She said. "Breath…" After about the 7th or 8th attempt, it looked like it would be no use. The man remained lifeless. Then, all of a sudden, the man coughed and gagged. Lavender rolled him onto his side as he began coughing up water. Once he stopped; she laid him on his back. She then listened to his chest again. He was breathing lightly.

"Okay…help me move him." She told her daughter. "We need to get him to the car."

Ammy grabbed his legs while her mom grabbed his upper body. Together, they hoisted him up off the beach and they carried him down the beach to their waiting car as fast as they could. They laid him down in the back seat before climbing in the front seats.

Lavender gunned the car as she headed back to the house as fast as she could. She narrowly avoided hitting a car and she plowed through an intersection.

"I never what to see or hear of you driving like this." Lavender said.

"Don't worry, I won't." Ammy replied as she held on for dear life.

They slid to a stop in their driveway. They carefully removed the young man from the back seat and carried him inside. They made their way to the kitchen and laid him on the table.

"Amanda…I need you to go to the bathroom and bring the big medical kit from under the sink." Lavender said.

"Yes, ma'am." Ammy replied before rushing upstairs. Just then, Ryan came into the kitchen. Lavender quickly turned him away and herded him into the den.

"What's going on Mommy?" he asked. "Is that man alright?"

"Ryan…" she said kneeling in front of him and placing her hands on his shoulder. "Mommy needs you to go upstairs to your room and stay there till she tells you to come down. Can you do that for me?"

"But…"

"Please, do this for Mommy."

Ryan nodded before running upstairs to hit room. Just then, Ammy returned with the med-kit. She followed her mom back into the kitchen. Her mom removed all the man's clothing save for his boxers. He was covered with several nasty gashes and dark bruises.

"I can't believe is he is still alive." She said.

"Me neither." Ammy agreed.

"Okay…we need to work quickly so I'm going to have to need you to do whatever I tell you…okay?" Her mom asked. She nodded lightly. "Good girl. We are going to need some clean warm water and some wash rags."

Ammy quickly set out to heat up some water and gathers an arm full of rags. Her mother began washing the man's wounds as best as she could. Some of his cuts were bleeding profusely. Once the water was ready, she used it to rinse the cuts and clear them of sand and other filth.

"Put some gloves on." He mother said as she donned a pair herself. She did as she was told. "Okay…now when I ask for something…I need you to hand it to me."

"Yes, ma'am." She replied weakly.

"Amanda…I'm gonna need you to be strong."

Ammy shook her head then nodded.

"Okay, I need the forceps." Her mother said. Ammy dug through the kit and grabbed a pair. She passed them to her mother. Lavender used them to remove pieces of jagged coral and stone that were embedded in the cuts and gashes.

Once they were fully clean, the wounds needed to be stitched, but first, the bleeding needed to be stopped.

"Cautery pen."

She handed it to her mom who proceeded to cauterize the torn arteries to stop them from bleeding.

"Mono suture and thread."

Ammy fished them from the kit and passed them to her mom. She used them to stitch up the more severe and life threatening lacerations.

"Bandages."

Ammy handed them to her mom and then helped her wrap the cuts to keep debris from getting into them.

After about 45 minutes, they were done. Lavender removed her blood-stained gloves and tossed time in the trash. Ammy did likewise. They then carried him up to the spare room and placed him in the bed. The spare room belonged to Amanda's brother Brandon before he left. Once they made sure he was tucked in and doing well, they made their way downstairs to clean up where they had worked on him.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Ammy asked her mom. Lavender didn't respond immediately, but yet she hesitated.

"I don't know. He was injured pretty badly. For all we know, he could have some internal injuries. For now, we just have to wait and see if he comes to. Then, maybe we can get some more details about what happened."

Once they had finished with the cleaning, Lavender made her way up to talk to Ryan while Ammy retreated to her room. She flung herself down on the bed. She sighed and closed her eyes.

_"I have a feeling things are gonna get pretty interesting around here."_ She told herself.

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Coming To**_


	3. Ch 3: Coming To

_**Chapter 3: Coming To**_

Alex felt as if he was floating on a cloud. Weightless and drifting, it felt as if he would just disappear into an empty void if he continued. Then, things started to change. It felt as if he was getting heavier; like he was being pulled back down to Earth. Then it felt as if someone wrapped him in a warm thick blanket. He tried to move but couldn't. He became scared and tried to move again. This time, he felt a lot of pain.

Alex's eye shot open as he cried out. He was staring at the ceiling of a dimly lit room. The light was coming from a slowly rising sun that was filtering through the curtains that draped the window. As he lay there, he began to notice more and more. His clothes were gone, except for his boxers. He was lying in a warm bed covered in a thick blanket. He scanned the room but couldn't see much more at the moment.

He tried to sit up but his sore body fought him in a painful protest. Fighting back, he sat up with a pained groan. Slowly he pushed the blanket off of him and carefully swung his feet out of the bed. His sat on the edge of the bed dreading the pain that would hit him once he tried to stand. Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. He looked up to see someone opening the door and looking in.

"Oh, you're awake finally." Said the Ninetales-morph in a sweet and quiet voice. She pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better." Was his horse response. He tried to stand but lost his balance and fell back into the bed. The morph rushed forward and helped him sit back up.

"Easy now." She replied. "You don't want to go hurting yourself even more now do you?"

"Where am I?" he asked looking around the room.

"You're safe. My daughter found you washed up on the beach so we brought you here to our house." She explained. "We tried to patch you up the best we could, but I wouldn't push myself too much if I were you."

Alex groaned and covered his face with his hands. He tried to remember what had happened. Slowly, thinks started to come back to him. He was sailing on his boat. There was a storm that blew in and he tried to get to shore before it hit, but he was unable to and that's when all hell broke loose. He couldn't remember much after that.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Alex noticed that the morph was studying him with a close eye. Her hardened and unwavering stare unnerved him and for some reason he found himself blushing lightly. He hoped that she wouldn't notice in the dim lighting of the room.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, hoping to waver her from her constant gaze.

"About a week." She replied.

"A week!" he exclaimed, wincing as he did.

"Yes." She nodded. "For the first three days, you were almost in a comatose state. You finally came to and were sleeping for the past two days." As she explained, Alex suddenly realized how hungry he was. His stomach gave a loud gurgling rumble. He looked down a little embarrassed. The morph gave a light laugh.

"Why don't you come down stairs and I will whip you something up for breakfast?" she said.

"Alright." Alex agreed. She helped him to his feet slowly where he wobbled in place momentarily before he got his balance. The morph handed him a change of clothes.

"Do you need help?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I'll be fine, thanks." He said.

"Okay." She replied standing up. I'll head downstairs." And with that, she left the room and made her way down the hall. Alex pushed the door up and slowly and painfully got dressed. The clothes he was given consisted of plain black tee shirt and an old pair of blue jeans that had what appeared to have a hole for a tail that had been sewn closed.

After he managed to get dressed; Alex slowly made his way down the hall. He passed several doors before he reached the stairs. He hobbled down them take his time else he strain his injuries. He followed the sound of commotion to the kitchen where he found the morph that he awoke to in the process of starting on breakfast.

"Oh, so my son's old clothes did fit." She said as he hobbled in.

"Yes, they do…thank you." He replied.

"It's nothing." She said with the wave of a hand. "After all, I couldn't let you stay in the tattered rags that you washed up in."

Alex took a seat at the kitchen table with deliberate slowness.

"Is there anything in particular that you want for breakfast?"

"I can go for anything." He replied.

"How do eggs sound?"

"That sounds good."

As she worked on breakfast, the morph kept glancing at Alex. After a few minutes, she broke the silence.

"Soo, tell me a little about yourself." She said.

"What would you like to know?" he ask.

"Anything, really…like, what's your name…where are you from…thinks like that."

"Well, my name's Alex."

"Well, Alex, my name is Lavender…it's nice to finally get the chance to talk to you."

"Likewise."

They remind quiet for several minutes. Lavender finished up on Alex's breakfast. She plated it up and handed it to him.

"Thanks Mrs.…uh…" he started.

"Pyres." She replied. "Mrs. Pyres…but you can just call me Lavender."

"Well, thank you Mrs. Pyres. I was never good with calling an adult by their first name…it's just how I was raised."

"Well, you're very welcome Alex. Eat up…there is plenty more where that came from."

She didn't have to tell him twice. Alex dug in hungrily. The food was delicious. He only wished that he hadn't been starving so he didn't look like he was just shoveling it down. In a matter of minutes, his plate was cleaned.

"Would you like some more?" she asked.

"Yes, please…but only a little." He replied with a nod.

Lavender took his plate and put some more food on it before handing it back. As she did, Ammy stumbled into the kitchen. She stopped when she seen Alex. He nodded to her and continued to eat.

"Oh, Ammy, you're awake." Her mother said when she seen her enter. "Our guest has finally come to."

"I've noticed." She replied. Her mom handed her a plate of food. She took it and sat opposite of Alex.

"Oh, I need to go wake you're brother up." Lavender said and she made her way out the kitchen. Alex and Ammy continued eating and for several minutes; neither one of them said anything. Alex was the one to break the silence.

"Thank you…Ammy, was it?" he said. She looked up at him with a sort of questioning look. "Your mom tells me that you were the one that found me." He explained. "Thank you for saving me."

"Oh,…it was nothing…"

"Alex."

"It was nothing, Alex. After all, I couldn't just leave you lying there on the beach now could I?"

"Some might have, but you didn't so I thank you again."

"You're welcome." She replied with a soft smile.

Just then, Lavender returned. She was followed by a young Vulpix-morph that Alex assumed was Ammy's brother. He looked much like her, only smaller. He got wide-eyed when he saw Alex.

"WOW!" he exclaimed. "You're awake finally. Mommy said you had been sleeping for a long time."

"Now now, Ryan." Lavender chimed in. "Let's not crowd our guest."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Mrs. Pyres." Alex stated.

They all continued to eat breakfast. Once Alex had finished, he got up and cleaned his plate at the sink and set aside in the drainer.

"That was a wonderful breakfast, Mrs. Pyres." He said.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it." She replied. "Oh, Ammy…you better get a move on." She added looking at the clock. "You don't wanna be late for school."

"Yes, ma'am." Ammy replied before setting her empty plate in the sink and made her way up stairs to get ready. Lavender turned to Alex.

"Alex, there is something I want you to come see." She said before making her way through a side door in the back of the kitchen. Alex followed her. It led to the garage. Lavender flipped on the lights.

"This is all we found of what we assumed were your belongings." She said pointing to a pile of items. "Ammy and I found spent the next few days after we found you combing the beach to find as much as we could." Alex smiled.

"Well thank you very much." He said.

"If you want, you can go through your things and find anything worth salvaging and take them up to your room for now."

"My room?" he repeated a bit puzzled. She nodded.

"Yes…if you would like, you can stay here and use my older son's room until you recover. He moved out a while back to go and travel the world. I don't think he would mind if you used it for the time being."

Alex was touched. Here were these complete strangers and they were treating him almost like he was a part of their family.

"Thank you." Alex said giving her a hug. She smiled sweetly and returned it.

"You're welcome." She replied. "Now, I have to take Ryan to school and then go to work. Ammy usually walks to her school so she will be leaving soon as well. Like I said before, anything that is still good from your belonging can go up in your room. If you get hungry, you can help yourself to whatever you find in the kitchen."

"Thank you again, Mrs. Pyres." Alex said.

"Don't mention it." She said turning to leave, but stopped. "Oh, and do take it easy. I don't want you tearing some of your stitched loose because you pushed yourself too far."

"I will." He stated before he got started going through his things.

A little while later, Lavender came through with Ryan close behind. They climbed into the car and backed out the garage. Alex waved bye to them and went back to going through his things. A little while later, he heard a door close and he guessed it was Ammy leaving.

As he was looking his things over, Alex was surprised as to how much of it survived the storm and the sea. His guitar case had a crack in it but the guitar inside was still good. All it had were a few little scuffs and scratches. His electronics including his cellphone, laptop, and iPod all rode it out in a waterproof case that he carried them in while sailing.

About half of his clothes were there and most of them were wet and most likely needed to be washed, but there were a suitcase of clothes that remained clean and dry even though the case itself was pretty banged up. There was also a small case that held some personal items that remained dry also.

He was surprised as to how much was still good. He began taking all the things worth saving up to his room. _His room._ He was still shocked that Mrs. Pyres was soo willing to open their home to him and invite him to stay till he got better. He knew she was right; he was in no condition to travel and would probably stay until he made a full recovery before he would make his way back home.

Alex slowly stretched out on his bed and sighed, groaning only when the stitched up gash on his leg throbbed a little. He yawned expansively and closed his eyes to momentarily rest them. But soon, Alex unintentionally drifted off to sleep. But, it was a restless sleep.

_Alex was standing outside in the parking lot of the grocery store in his home town. It was night time and one of the people standing with him said the store was closed. As Alex turned to walk away, he found himself inside the store. There were others walking around and shopping._

_ One customer caught Alex's attention. It was a black guy wearing a full suit of silver chain mail. As Alex walked by, he intentionally bumped into him, but made it seem like it was an accident. The guy stumbled but Alex kept him from falling._

_ "My bad." He told the guy._

_ "It's no problem." He replied. "I should have been watching where I was going."_

_ "Don't feel bad." Alex added as if to cheer him up. "I ran head on into a door the other day."_

_ The two laughed briefly before Alex continued down the aisle. He turned and started up the next one. As he reached the end; suddenly someone grabbed him from behind by the neck. He turned to see the guy in the chain mail. Before Alex could react, he felt the barrel of a gun against his head and two shots were fired._

Alex found himself lying in bed, breathing heavily and looking at the ceiling. He didn't move…he didn't want to. He laid there for several minutes before he slowly sat up. His heart was still beating fast and he was drenched in sweat.

"That had to of been one of the most random ass dreams I have ever had." He told himself. He got up and made his way down the hall. He managed to find the bathroom where he splashed some cold water on his face, shivering as he did.

Afterwards, Alex headed downstairs and into the kitchen. It was just after 12 noon and he was starting to get a little hungry. He gathered some ingredients to make him a sandwich. He helped himself to a glass of sweet tea from the pitcher in the fridge. Seating himself down at the table, Alex was able to enjoy a nice little lunch.

Once he had finished eating; he started on cleaning the dishes he had dirtied. While he was in the middle of doing so, he heard a door open. A moment later, Lavender walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mrs. Pyres." He said looking up.

"Hi, Alex." She replied.

"Done with work already?"

"What…oh, no. I'm just on my lunch break." She explained. "I was out grabbing me a quick bite to eat and I thought that I would stop in and check to see how you were doing."

"Oh. I'm doing fine. I just finished up with lunch actually."

They talked for several minutes before she glanced at his bandages.

"Alex, can you come with me for a minute?" she asked getting up. He got up and followed her without complaint. She walked into the bathroom and he got a little nervous for an instant. He then saw her getting what looked like some type of surgical wrap of something.

"While I am thinking about it, I should probably change out your bandages." She stated.

Alex sighed lightly feeling a bit of relief. He took a seat on the closed toilet while Lavender sat on the edge of the bathtub. She removed the bandages on his arm first. The stitches were still good. She sprayed some antibiotics on the area before rewrapping it with a fresh set of bandages. She then removed the ones from his leg. A few of the stitches were looking a little loose and one had actually pulled through. Lavender removed the bad stitch before applying the antibiotics and bandages.

"Well, that should do it for now." She said giving him on final look-over. "Unless something happens, that should last for about another week and maybe by then, we can start removing some of the stitches."

"Thanks." Alex said rubbing his arm gingerly. As Lavender was getting up, Alex stopped her. "Um, Mrs. Pyres…I have a question."

"Yes, Alex?"

"What if I need to take a shower?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure that I'm not supposed to get these wet."

She thought for a moment before and idea came to her. She left briefly before she returned with what looked like plastic wrap and duct tape.

"You can wrap the areas with plastic wrap and use the tape to hold it in place. That should keep your bandages dry. Then you can just remove it when you're done."

"Okay. That sounds like it should work."

"Oh…I need to be going." She said looking at the clock on the wall. "I will be back around 5 o'clock. Ammy and Ryan will be in before then."

"Alright Mrs. Pyres. I guess I will see you when you get back, then."

"Okay, Alex. Again, be careful with your stitches. Those on your leg are starting to come loose."

"Yes, ma'am."

Lavender left to go back to work. Alex wondered about what he was going to do for the next few hours. He decided that the first thing he was going to do was get a shower. If he had really been out for a week, then he would really need a good shower about now.

He grabbed a clean change of clothes and used the plastic wrap and tape to cover his bandages. He turned on the water and while it was heating up, he stripped out of his clothes. Soon, the water was perfect and he climbed into the shower.

Alex couldn't help but release a huge sigh as the warm water washed over him. He scrubbed away the dirt and was relieved to finally be clean once again. The water felt soo good that Alex wouldn't have been surprised if he dozed off for a few minutes while he was standing there.

Once he was clean, he shut the water off and climbed out of the shower. The cool air chilled him so he quickly dried off and got dressed. He then removed the coverings over his bandages. He made his way down the hall to his room and stretched out on the bed. Alex sighed with a little smile.

He was happy. It had been a while since he had been happy. With all the shit that had been going on back at home; it was nice to get away from it all. He closed his eyes, surprised by the fact that he was still a little tired.

_"You know, this place isn't soo bad."_ He thought to himself. _"I could get use to a place like this."_

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Nothing is Free**  
_


	4. Ch 4: Nothing is Free

_**Chapter 4: Nothing is Free**_

_April 15__th__, 2283_

_ "It has been 1 week since I awoke to find myself in the comfort of the Pyres residence. Things are going well. Mrs. Pyres said that she was amazed by how fast I had begun to heal. She removed my stitches yesterday. The only signs of my accident are just a few rather large cuts; one on my arm and the other on my leg."_

_ "I find myself wondering how Dad and Zak are doing. I was only supposed to be gone for about a week. Today is going on just over three weeks. I am pretty sure that they have assumed something has happened and that search and rescue are out looking for my boat. But will they know which way to look? I never really had a set destination before I left so no one would really know which way I was going."_

_ "How long are they going to search? I doubt they will find anything left. Maybe I should try to send a letter or message home to let everyone know that I am safe. I don't want them to give up the search only to tell everyone that they assumed the worst."_

_ "These are just a list of things I must deal with for the time being. It seems like even though I was trying to leave my troubles behind; I still manage to get into more trouble in some form or another."_

_ "Other than that; I have been doing well. I get along great with the Pyres family. Mrs. Pyres is really nice and she seems to really appreciate it when I can help her out around the house. Ryan and I do just great together. Being a little kid, he is rather easy to get along with. You just gotta appeal to their wants and they will almost obey you entirely." _

_ "Then there is Amanda. Where to begin with her? Like me; Ammy has been through a lot. I guess that is one of the main reasons why we can connect in a way and somewhat get along. We can sorta relate to one another. From what she has been saying; word of my presence has gotten around rather quickly and there was talk of me going around her school."_

_ "It appears she has become somewhat more popular than she was…though quite a few of the students confront her about me with rather harsh words and hurtful comments. On a lighter note; Ammy has a few friends that apparently really want to meet me. I have no clue when or if this will happen but I am looking forwards to it. It's not very often that I have people that want to meet me personally". _

_ "There are times when I am around her that things seem a bit tense. It is almost like she is still unsure of me entirely. I just hope we can overcome those differences and become friends. After all, it's not very often that something like this happens to someone. At times, it makes me think: "Has this happened for a reason? Is this just another trial I must face to strengthen myself overall?" _

_ "I do not have the answers for these questions at this moment, but I hope I can find them soon for I feel that my time in these lands is growing shorter with each passing day and that eventually; I will be leaving them to return to my own. I only hope that those around me haven't gotten too attached to me. I couldn't bear to hurt them with my departure."_

Alex saved the document on his laptop and shut it off. He lowered the screen with a sigh and looked out the window. It was just another morning like any other. He got up and made his way down the hall to the bathroom. After relieving himself, he then made his way down to the kitchen.

Everyone else was already up and getting ready for their day. Mrs. Pyres had made pancakes. Alex put a few on a plate and then sat down at the table and started to eat. After he was finished with his breakfast, he made his way out into the backyard where he stood there watching the sun rise.

"Is everything alright, Alex?" Mrs. Pyres asked as she approached from behind him.

"Huh? Oh, yea…I'm fine." He replied. "Just thought I would get out and get some fresh air." He took a deep breath as his eyes scanned the yard. He noticed a few things that could be taken care of and already; the gears in his mind started to turn.

"Do you have a lawn mower?" he asked.

"Yes, it's in the shed." She replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that the grass could use a cut."

"It has been a while since it was last cut, but you don't have to do that."

"Yes I do." He replied firmly. "You were nice enough to let me stay here; I can't just sit back when things need to be done. My dad always told me that nothing in life was free. That I should always repay someone if possible if they have done something for me…so that's what I intend to do."

Lavender was stunned by his response. She knew that there were people with the same state of mind as Alex's, but she never expected she would meet one; and a human at that. She had always heard that most humans were harsh and was impressed with his unselfishness.

"Alright, well, try not to work yourself too hard." She said with a courteous smile. Before she made her way back inside. She watched Alex from the kitchen window for a few minutes and sighed.

"Is everything alright, Mom." Ammy asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Hmm, oh, yes. Everything's fine." She replied.

"Okay. I was planning to go out with the girls today if that's alright."

"Sure. Just don't stay out too long. I have to head over to and see Mrs. Fields and I will probably be taking Ryan with me. He has been asking to go over and play with Jake and Karl."

"Alright, do you know about what time you will be back?"

"Not really. I don't plan on being for a really long time."

"Well, if you're not back by the time I get back; would it be alright if the girls come in?"

"Yes, just don't make a mess."

"You know we don't."

"Alright…well, I will see you later. Have fun today."

"I will Mom, bye."

"Okay well, bye dear." Lavender gathered up her purse and car keys. "Ryan, let's go." She called upstairs. A moment later, He came running down the stairs. Together, they went to the garage and a few seconds later, were pulling out the drive.

Ammy stood and watched them leave. Then, a noise from the backyard began to draw her attention. She went to the back door to see what it was. It was Alex. He was in the process of mowing the grass. She watched him for a few minutes before she went to the den to watch TV.

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Ammy got up to see who it was; all thought she knew who it was. She opened the door to see her friends Jackie, Lily, and Maria.

"Hey, Ammy." Lily said cheerfully when the door opened. The Buizel-morph smiled. "Are you about ready to go?"

"Yep…let me just grab my purse." Ammy replied. "You girls can come in for a minute if you want."

The three girls came in and stood in the den while Ammy went to grab her purse. She noticed that they were looking around, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of Alex. They were still scanning around when she came back down.

"Alright, I'm ready." Ammy said as she slipped her purse over her arm.

"Is _he _here?" asked Jackie, a Lucario-morph.

"Yea," Ammy replied. "In fact, I should probably tell him I am leaving."

She made her way to the back door, dimly aware that the girls were following here. As she opened the door and stepped out, she spotted Alex at the far side of the yard. In only an hour, he had managed to get most of the back yard done. But also in that hour, it had gotten hotter outside. By now, Alex had removed his shirt, showing off a tanned and toned physique.

"Hey, Alex!" Ammy called out to get his attention. "Can you come here for a second?"

Alex waved back and shut off the mower before making his way over.

"Hey, Ammy, what's up?" he asked wiping his brow with his shirt before draping it back over his shoulder. She couldn't help but notice he had a tattoo on his upper right arm. It was something she was surprised she hadn't noticed sooner.

"We were about to head out. I was just letting you know that I would probably be back in a few hours." She explained.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you when ya get back."

"Alright, later."

"Wait, Ammy." Lily cut in. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" Ammy gave one of those fake annoyed sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course, where are my manners?" she replied. "Alex, this is Lily, Maria, and Jackie." She said pointing to the Buizel-morph, Pikachu-morph, and Lucario-morph as she said their names. "Girls, this is Alex."

"Hi, Alex." The three morphs replied in unison.

"Hello, ladies." Alex replied with a light nod. The girls giggled and Ammy rolled her eyes.

"Come on, girls." She said as she began to corral them back inside. "Alex has work to do and we need to get going."

"Be careful." Alex called out as they turned to leave. He turned back to the mower shaking his head lightly before getting back to work. Ammy and her friends climbed into Maria's car before they backed out the drive. After a few minutes, talk broke out.

"Soo…" Lily started as she glanced back at Ammy.

"Soo..?" she replied.

"Come on." Lily said back as if Ammy should have known where the conversation was heading. "Tell us more about him."

"Yea, what's he like?" Jackie added.

"There isn't much to say." Ammy replied. "What you see is what you get." Lily rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to say?"

"Come on, you know what we mean." Jackie chimed. Ammy sighed.

"He…he's alright." Ammy started. "He is really nice. He helps out around the house a lot. My mom has taken a shine to him."

"And…?" Lily asked trying to get her to say more.

"And what?" Ammy asked. "He kinda keeps to himself with his personal life. I really couldn't tell you much more about him because I myself don't know much more about him."

"You gotta admit; he is kinda cute." Maria said.

Ammy didn't respond.

"Ha! You like him." Lily chortled.

"What, no I don't." Ammy replied.

"Yes you do." The Buizel-morph replied in a sing-song voice

"No, I don't." Ammy snapped back, turning and looking out the window. Lily smiled.

"I can tell you're not telling the truth, your ears are turning red." Again, Ammy did not reply. Lily gave her a playful nudge. "Hey, don't get mad. I don't blame you. He is cute." Ammy sighed before she gave in.

"Fine, you got me." She said with a taciturn tone. "He is rather attractive; but I don't plan on getting too attached to him. He most likely won't be around for much longer."

"Why do you say that?" Jackie asked.

"Well, he wasn't planning on staying for a long time." She explained. "He said something about staying long enough to make a full recovery before he tried to find a way to get back to his home." Ammy went silent and returned to looking out the window. She was glad none of them wanted to press the matter anymore.

Alex gave a sigh a relief as he wiped his brow. He was finally done with mowing the yard. It took him almost three hours. That was about an hour more than he thought. As he pushed the mower back into the shed, he stopped to look at the swimming pool they had in the backyard.

It was relatively clean, but it could use a little work. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he wasn't ready to call it quits yet. So, Alex retrieved the equipment to clean the pool from the shed and got to work on the pool. He finished a lot sooner than he thought but it was only because the pool wasn't in total disarray.

While the chemicals cycled through the pool's system; Alex decided to stop for lunch. It was a little break that was short lived. As soon as he had finished; Alex was back out and finishing up on the yard work. He decided that he would trim up the bushes that had begun to grow out of control. He got started in the front yard. While he worked he could help but notice how several of the local residents were watching him.

A few that had been walking down the sidewalk waved to him as they passed and Alex politely waved back in return. What really threw him off was when the couple from next door actually came over to say hello. They were curious as to why he was staying with the Pyres and he explained that he was just visiting and would be leaving soon and that he was glad they stopped to say hey.

When he finished the trimming in the front yard, Alex started on the back which wasn't as back as the front. About an hour later, he gathered up the branches and leaves he had cut off and put them in a pile near the side of the road. Once he was finished, Alex stood back and admired his handiwork. He was proud with the work he had done and could happily call it a day.

He went inside to get a drink and then headed upstairs to change into some swim clothes. After he grabbed a towel, he made he was out back to the pool. It had been sitting long enough for the chemicals to cycle through. He walked over to the deep end and after taking a deep breath, dove in. He swam down and sat on the bottom for a few seconds before resurfacing with a loud gasp. The cool water was exactly the thing he needed after working most of the day. He floated around peacefully and was sure that he might have dozed off if he wanted to.

About a half an hour later, a light commotion roused him from his tranquil state of mind. It was Ammy and her friends. They had just arrived after spending the day together. Like before, Ammy had come through the back door and just like before, her friends were right behind her.

"Hey Alex." Ammy said when he looked up at her. "We're back now."

"Okay, did you girls have fun?" he asked.

"Yep. It was nice to get out of the house for a change." She replied. Her friends nodded in agreement. "Wow, it looks like you had a busy day." She said as she scanned the yard."

"Yea," he said with a sigh. "Just my way of thanking you guys for taking me in like this and giving me a place to stay until I was better."

"Well, like Mom said, it was nothing."

Just then, Mrs. Pyres exited the back door, followed by Ryan.

"Hey everyone." She said with a cheery smile.

Everyone replied with a "hey" of some sort. She took a look at the yard and the pool.

"Wow, Alex. You did a really great job on the yard…and the pool."

"Well, I am to please." He replied. "Just my little way of showing my appreciation for all you're done for me."

"Well, again, thank you." She replied sincerely. "Now, is it just me or is it a little warm out here today? I think I could go for a little swim."

"Actually, me too." Ammy added.

"Can we swim, too?" Lily asked.

"We don't have our bathing suits, Lily." Jackie stated.

"That's okay. I have plenty of spares if you girls want to borrow some of mine." Ammy replied.

"Sweet!" Lily exclaimed. "Last one in is a rotten egg!" she added before dashing inside to grab a swim suit. The others laughed and joined in. A few moments later, everyone was in the pool. While the others laughed and splashed around, Alex gave a little sigh. As much as he was really starting to like this place; he knew that he would ultimately have to leave to return home. One that was going to be one departure that he would not entirely be looking forward to.

* * *

_**Next Chapter: The Tide of Feelings**_


	5. Ch 5: The Tide of Feelings

_**Chapter 5: The Tide of Feelings**_

_Alex was standing in the yard with Ammy. She had a smile on her face as she looked at him. Alex smiled back, but it was a false smile. He knew this would happen. He had gotten attached to her and now he was only going to break her heart by leaving. _

_ "Alex, what's wrong?" Ammy asked._

_ "I can't stay with you…" he replied. "I…I just can't."_

_ "Don't you care for me at all?" she asked suddenly, tears forming in her eyes. "Do I mean anything to you? Anything at all?"_

_ Alex couldn't respond…he didn't know what to say. Ammy stormed back into the house, crying. Mrs. Pyres glared at him from the front door before shaking her head and turning away; shutting the door as she did._

_ That was it. He had messed up. Now he had no other choice but to return home. But for some reason, he had this feeling in the back of his mind that he couldn't; that his return would not be a welcomed one like he thought._

Alex woke suddenly from his sleep. His heart was pounding and something just didn't feel right. It felt as if a thick black cloth had been draped over everything he knew and that something had been ripped from his life. Sweating and shaking, he sat on the edge of his bed.

_What the hell is going on?_ He thought to himself. He touched his cheek and was shocked when he felt a tear rolling down it. He stood up and strolled over to the mirror that was built on to the dresser. Alex steadied himself by grabbing the dresser. Still breathing heavily, he looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes seemed different, as if they were darker…like he wasn't their entirely.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself quietly. He glared at his reflection as if it was about to tell him what he wanted to know, but it remained silent. Alex's knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the edge of the dresser.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled into the mirror. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

Lashing out, he punched the mirror, sending a spider web of cracks across its face. A few pieces fell out and clattered as the rained down onto the dresser top. Still seeing red, Alex stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. He click on the light and pushed the door up behind him. Sagging against the wall, Alex slowly slid down to the floor and stared blankly in front of him. He sat there for a few minutes, lost in his thoughts of nothingness.

Lavender woke from her sleep at the sound of a loud crash and shouting. Thinking only about the safety of her family, she grabbed the .22 revolver she kept in her bedside drawer. She slowly got up and made her way down the hall. She peeked in on Ryan and then in on Ammy. Both were still sound asleep. She then made her way to Alex's room. His door stood somewhat ajar; which was odd can he normally slept with it closed.

She slowly pushed open the door. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit room. Alex was not in his bed. In fact, he didn't appear to be in his room at all. Suddenly, something out of place caught her eye. The mirror on the dresser was shattered. She then noticed a trail of blood along the floor.

It went out the door and down the hall. Nervous, she slowly followed the trail. It led to the bathroom. She put her ear to the door and listened. She didn't hear anything. She tapped lightly on the door.

"Alex, are you in there?" she asked timidly. There was no response. "Alex?" she asked again. This time she heard someone sniffing as if they were crying. "I'm coming in." she declared as she slowly pushed open the door.

Alex was propped against the wall as he sat in the floor. His hand was laying limp on the floor next to him, blood pooling around it. Alex slowly turned and looked up at her, tears in his eyes. She set the gun on the sink and quickly kneeled next to him.

"Alex, what happened?" she asked. He didn't answer. He just turned and began staring straight ahead. "Alex?" she whispered.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked in a shaking voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Something is wrong." He said looked directly into her eyes. "Something is wrong and I don't know what it is or what to do. All I know is that there _is _something wrong. I can feel it. It's like the world is heavier…darker."

His vision seemed to flicker almost and his head sagged down to his chest momentarily. Lavender assumed that he was in a light state of shock. She slowly stood him up, which was a bit harder than she thought it would be and led him to the edge of the tub where she set him down and began rinsing his hand.

She then grabbed her med-kit and fished out the tweezers. She used them to pick the broken pieces of the mirror out of his hand. Once she finished, she grabbed some peroxide and poured it on his hand. After that, she dried his hand the best she could and wrapped some bandages around it.

Once finished, she put her kit away and turned back to Alex. He was still sitting on the side of the tub, still wearing the same gaunt look on his face. She closed the lid of the toilet and sat on it. She could tell there was something totally different about him. The shine that use to be in his eyes was no longer there. Now, they just seemed to be cold and dark; void of all emotion.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asked.

"I don't know anymore." He replied quietly as he shook his head.

"Tell me what happened."

Alex gave her a reluctant look before finally giving in. He told her of his dream about Ammy and how she was upset with him leaving. He even told her how everything seemed different. She asked him to elaborate more about how it felt. As he described it, she began to understand more and more. She too had the same feeling many years ago.

It was back when her husband was killed. When he had died, it felt as if everything in the world had stopped. That everything was colder, darker…like the flames of happiness and joy had been snuffed out. She knew that the reason why Alex felt this sudden emptiness was because someone he probably knew…that he was very close to had recently passed away.

She did not share her thoughts exactly with him. Seeing the state of mind he was in know; Lavender thought it best to not make it worse. She didn't know how to help him exactly. Alex looked at the puddle of blood on the floor.

"Sorry about the mirror." He said. "I feel bad that made such a mess."

Lavender suddenly pulled Alex into a warm embrace. He was briefly thrown off by it. After a minute, he wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. She held him for several minutes. When she let him go, she gave him an almost motherly kiss on the cheek.

"Why don't you go downstairs and get you something cold to drink." She said earnestly. "Don't worry about the mess. I will take care of it."

Alex sat there for a few seconds before he gave her another hug and he got up and slowly made his way down the hall. She got up and started cleaning up the blood. Once done, she then cleared up the broken glass from the mirror in Alex's room. She then made her way downstairs herself.

Alex was standing at the sink with a glass of water in his uninjured hand. In three large gulps, he emptied the glass and set it beside the sink. He turned to her as she approached.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like…crap." He said choosing his words carefully. "But, for some odd reason; I feel a little bit better than before. I mean, it still fills like there is a dark void engulfing the world. But now, it feels like there is a light somewhere. I think I just need to find it."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm not sure." He replied. "I think I'm just going to go back to bed."

"Alright; well, if there is anything you need of anything I can do to help…don't hesitate to ask. I'm here for you." Alex smiled lightly, feeling a little warmer inside. He hugged her once again.

"Thanks." He said before slowly making his way back upstairs.

Lavender stood in the kitchen for a few minutes. It was still early and she was wide awake now. She decided to go ahead and start her morning routines, just a little earlier than normal.

Alex opened his eyes and found himself staring at the clock in the bedside table. It read 8:43. It had been roughly 6 hours since he woke only to have a panic attack. He rolled over and looked at the broken mirror. Most of it had been cleaned up by Mrs. Pyres not long after he had hit it. He looked down at his bandaged hand.

It still felt like something was wrong and he still didn't know what it was or what to do to fix it. He then remembered how Mrs. Pyres reassured him. It had been so long that he had gone without someone acting motherly towards him that he almost forgot how nice it felt. He smiled lightly before getting up with a sigh.

He made his way down to the kitchen. Everyone was already enjoying breakfast. Alex grabbed a plate and served himself before taking a seat at the table. Mrs. Pyres was also sitting at the table, which was different from normal. By the time he would get his breakfast, she had already eaten hers.

"Morning, Alex." She replied in a sweet and gentle tone.

"Morning." He replied; his voice was cracked and gruff from that morning.

"Are you alright, Alex?" Ammy asked. She had noticed the change in his voice.

"Yea," he replied with a nod. "I just didn't sleep well last night. That's all."

Lavender was surprised at how well he hid his true feelings. _To go from his state of mind this morning to now shrugging it off like it never happened; _she thought to herself. _I don't know how he does it._

"What happened to your hand?" Ammy asked him, worried when she saw the blood-stained bandages on it.

"Oh, I went to get up last night and stumbled into the dresser. I lost my balance and smacked my hand into the mirror."

"Ouch…are you alright?" she asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." He replied.

They all continued to eat, not really talking much. Once Ammy finished, she rinsed her plate in the sink and turned to her mom.

"I was thinking about going into town to hang out with the girls, if that's alright?" she asked.

"Sure, that's fine." Mrs. Pyres said with a nod. "Maybe Alex could tag along." She added, giving him a look as if to say it might do him some good.

"Huh, Alex..? Sure, that's not a problem." She added. "I mean, if he wants to come."

"Well, I guess I could get out of the house for a change." He said after a minute. "I've had a lot on my mind and it could clear my head."

"Okay. Well, let me call Maria. She should be here soon." And with that, she made her way up to her room.

"I guess I'd better get ready." Alex said and he turned to leave, but Mrs. Pyres grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.

"I don't want you to be getting worked up about this morning." She said. "That's why I offered you to tag along with Ammy."

"I kinda guessed that much." Alex replied. "And who knows, it might take my mind off things."

"That's the idea." She replied with a light smile. She then gave him a quick hug. "Go on…go have fun."

"Thanks Mrs. Pyr… Mom." He said with a faint smile. He then turned to go get ready leaving her standing there with a smile on her face.

Alex made his way to his room and quickly got ready. He decided to wear some nice clothes. He pulled on his nicer, less worn pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He then pulled on a dark blue button down shirt over top, leaving the top few buttons undone to reveal his white undershirt. Lastly, he slipped on his black hiking shoes. Even though they probably were not going hiking, they were still comfy and good for walking.

Alex then made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. He shaved the long stubble that had begun to cover his lower face, leaving just enough to cover his chin. He then combed his hair and brushed his teeth before heading downstairs.

Ammy was already waiting. She was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. She looked up as he came down the stairs.

"You look nice." She said.

"Thanks, so do you." He replied.

Just then, there was a car horn outside.

"That would be Maria." Ammy said grabbing her purse.

"You all have fun." Mrs. Pyres said as she entered the room.

"We will, Mom." Ammy said. "Bye, I'll call if anything happens." And with that, she headed out the door with Alex following. They walked to Maria's car. She was driving a red Kia Rio. Alex held the front passenger door open for Ammy before taking one of the back seats for himself.

"Hey, you two." Maria said as they buckled up.

"Hey." They replied.

They pulled out the drive and were on their way. They had to make two more stops to pick up Lily and Jackie before they would go into downtown to hang out. It was somewhat of a tight squeeze for Alex because it seemed that both Lily and Jackie wanted to sit on either side of him; so Alex gave up on hoping to get a seat next to the window and sat between the two morphs.

"So, what do you all want to do today?" Maria asked once they got one the main road towards downtown.

"I don't know." Ammy replied. "Did you two have any ideas?" she added looking back at Lily and Jackie.

"Not really." Jackie replied. "I mean, I'm pretty much game for whatever you all want to do."

"Why don't we just show Alex around Shoalwood?" Lily suggested.

"I'm okay with that." Alex agreed. "After all, I haven't really seen much of the town."

"Okay. That sounds like a good idea." Ammy said.

"Alright, then where are we going to stop first?" Maria asked.

"We can go to the mall first." Lily replied.

"I don't think Alex would wa-"Ammy started.

"That sounds kinda fun, actually." Alex replied.

"Well, then I guess were going to the mall." Maria said and began making her way to the mall.

It wasn't a long trip there. Alex tried his best to look around along the way. After a few minutes, they pulled into the mall parking lot. For a rather small town, the mall was a bit bigger than Alex expected. They all got out and locked the doors before they made their way inside.

"So, what do you all wanna do first?" Ammy asked.

"Well, there was a nice dress that I was looking at over in _Glamorous_." Lily stated.

"I'm pretty sure Alex doesn't want to go dress shopping." Jackie said.

"Oh, I don't mind." He replied. "You all do what you need. I'm just tagging along."

With that being said, they made their way to _Glamorous_. Like Alex had expected, it was one of those girly type stores. Lily and Maria took some time looking at dresses before Lily found the one she liked. It was a light ocean blue with a sea foam green trim. After trying it on and getting the approval from her friends; Lily took the dress to the counter to pay for it.

The next store they stopped at was a _Rue 21_. Alex didn't mind this store. At least there were things he could buy if he wanted. He had noticed that the girls were using the same currency as he did in the US.

"Since the majority of the tourists that we get are American, we decided to use the same currency to make it easier for the both of us." Ammy explained.

Alex felt better knowing this seeing that he had close to $500 dollars in his wallet. He normally didn't walk around carrying that much money just in case something happened. While the girls browsed the clothes racks" Alex took the time to look at some new necklaces. He picked up one of a flat silver cross with another blue and silver cross set on top of it. He took it up to the register to pay for it.

"Hello." the Mightyena-morph behind the counter said in a cheery voice. "How can I help you today?"

"Yes, I would like to get this necklace." He replied placing the necklace on the counter. The morph took it and scanned the price tag.

"Will that be all, or can I interest you in some of our latest cologne for men?"

"No thanks, that will be all for today."

"Okay, that will be $16.59." Alex handed her a twenty. "Alright, your change is $3.41." she said handing him his change and a small bag. "Please come back and see us again."

Alex went and waited outside the doorway to the store. While he waited for the girls to finish, he went ahead and removed the tag from his necklace and slipped it on. A few minutes later, the girls exited the store; Ammy, Jackie, and Maria each carrying bags of newly purchased items.

"What are we going to do next?" Alex asked.

"Well, we are going to go check a few things out real quick." Stated Lily. "Why don't you two go look around." She added looking at Alex and Ammy. "Then we can all meet up in the food court for lunch."

"Okay. I guess we can do that." He replied.

"Alright. Let's meet up for lunch in an hour." Lily added before she, Jackie and Maria turned and walked away. Alex turned and looked at Ammy.

"Well, where should we go first?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter." She replied. "We can just look around if you want."

"Alright…Let's head this way."

The two of them made their way along, occasionally stopping to look in some of the store windows. The whole time, Ammy kept thinking about what her friends had told her.

"_You know, you should talk to him." Lily said as they browsed through the shirts. Alex was off looking at necklaces._

_ "About what?" Ammy asked._

_ "Anything. Just talk to him. Who knows…you two may hit it off."_

_ "And if we don't?"_

_ "Well, wouldn't you feel better knowing that then guessing about what might have been?" Maria added._

_ "I guess…" Ammy said after a pause. "But I'm not sure still. I think he might be a little uncomfortable talking about more personal things with all of you around."_

_ "That's alright. We will go look around and let you two be alone for a little before we get back up together for lunch." Lily explained. "That should give you two plenty of "privacy" to talk to each other."_

"Ammy, did you hear me?" Alex asked, suddenly bringing her to her senses.

"Hmm…What?" she replied blinking with a somewhat confused look on her face.

"I asked if everything was alright. You looked like you spaced out there for a moment."

"Oh, yea I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." Something inside of her kept urging her into talking more with him. "So, how do you like it here in Shoalwood?"

"It's a really nice place." He admitted. "A lot of the people here seem nice and most don't seem too shocked about me being here."

"Well, we do get a lot of human tourists, but there aren't many of them actually living here."

"Still, I thought people would try to avoid me. I had read things about human and morph conflicts that had happened back when. I just didn't know if there were some that would hold a grudge."

"I'm not gonna lie. There are some that would probably think it best if you left, but there are also a lot that don't mind."

"Do you mind me here?"

His question threw her off guard. She wasn't expecting him to ask her that personally.

"No…I don't mind you being here. In fact…I kinda like having you around."

"Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yea. You're a really nice guy; not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"Well, I had heard a lot about how humans were really rude and harsh towards morphs."

"I guess you can't judge a book by its cover."

"No…you can't."

They went quiet for a while. They walked along looked from store to store. Ammy glanced at Alex from the corner of her eye. Something inside her felt different; like she was seeing him in a new light. She smiled lightly to herself.

"I think your friends have taken a liking to me rather quickly." Alex said.

"Yea." Ammy replied with a laugh. "They have. I think Lily has taken a shine to you."

"She seems really nice…but she's kinda…"

"Really outgoing?"

"Yea…that's what I was looking for."

"She has always been like that. Ever since were we kids."

They went quiet again for several more minutes.

"What do your mom and brother think of me?"

"Ryan likes you. It's almost like he sees you as a big brother. And my mom, well, she really likes you also."

"Why do you say it like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way you said your mom liked me. You sounded like there was something wrong with it."

"No, there isn't anything wrong with it. It's just….well, it's a long story."

"I don't mind."

"Well, I don't know if you knew, but my dad had passed away when I was young."

"I kinda guessed that…sorry about your loss."

"Thanks…well anyway. My mom was devastated when it happened. At time went by, she hid her pain more and more. To try to make her feel better; I tried to get her into the whole internet dating thing."

"How did that work?"

"Well, my mom wasn't ready for another relationship but she knew I meant well. To try to get back at me, she got into this bad habit of flirting with all the guys I knew. She never let it get serious; she just did it to piss me off."

"Ahh. And you think that she intends to try this with me?"

"I don't know yet. I do know she likes having you around thought. She says you're such a big help around the house."

"Well, you guys let me live with you until I could get back on my feet. I had to repay you some way."

"And that's one of the reasons why she likes you soo much. You are a really kind and caring person."

"I guess that's just how I was raised. Like the Golden Rule says: 'Treat others the way you want to be treated.' I always treat everyone I meet with kindness because I wish for them to do the same."

"What do you think about us?"

He looked at her with a questioning look.

"Us: me, my mom and my brother."

"I've enjoyed my time with you all. Your mom is really nice. It's the first time I've had a true mother figure truly care for me."

"What do you mean? What about your mom?"

"I'm sure she cared for me at one time or another. But she never stayed. She left my dad for some rich doctor and never really cared to look back."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be…I never let it get to me anymore."

Ammy was somewhat shocked with Alex. He grew up with a rough childhood yet he still treated everyone with such kindness.

"Ryan…I like him. He is a good kid." He continued.

"Yea, he can be annoying at times." She replied.

"True, but that's how it is with any siblings. I'm pretty sure I pissed my big brother of more than a few times."

"You have an older brother?"

"Yea, he's a good guy. He looked after me while my dad was too tied up with work or what not."

"I haven't seen my older brother for a while. We left to travel the world. Last time I talked to him on the phone, he was still doing good thought so I'm happy about that."

Once again, they fell into another bout of silence. After they looked through a few more stores, Ammy spoke up again.

"What about me?" she asked timidly.

"You're…you're…" Alex seemed like he was having trouble figuring out what to say. "You're not like most girls I've met."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starts, most of the girls I met never really bothered with talking to me. And the ones I did know were just too distant to really get to know. It's like every time I tried to get to know them, they would just pull away."

"I know that feeling."

Alex looked at her.

"I've met a few guys who were the same way."

"Yea, but you on the other hand…even though you seem hesitant at first, you eventually opened up and gave getting to know me a chance."

"You were so nice to me. I couldn't bring myself to be cold with you."

"And I am glad you didn't. I've enjoyed getting to know you. It's nice to know I have someone I can talk to from time to time who kinda knows what I am going through…and I like being with you."

Alex stopped when he said that. He had a sudden look like he wasn't quite ready to reveal that information yet. He looked away, blushing lightly. Ammy smiled gently as she felt her ears growing warm.

"It's nice having you around." She said looking at him through the corner of her eye. "I like being with you, too."

Alex glanced at her and she looked away smiling. He smiled back. They continued their walk when suddenly a rather odd gurgling noise startled both of them. Alex looked down at his stomach before laughing.

"I guess my stomach is saying it's time for lunch." He said.

"Yea, I could eat, too." Ammy admitted giggling lightly.

"Care to head over to the food court now and meet up with the others?"

"Not at all, let's go."

As they made their way back, Alex glanced at Ammy. Something inside him was different. He was glad to finally have someone to talk with like a good friend. He suddenly found himself gently grabbing a hold of her hand. She seemed somewhat stunned by it but rather than pulling away like he thought she would, she smiled and held a little tighter. The two looked at each other, smiling as the headed to meet up with the others for lunch; both enjoying their new-found friendship.

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Choices and Revelations**_


	6. Ch 6: Choices and Revelations

_**Chapter 6: Choices and Revelations**_

Alex and Ammy made their way over to the food court. The others had not arrived yet. They decided to grab a seat and wait for them before getting lunch. They found a table off to the side and proceeded to pass the time with more conversation. Alex amused Ammy with stories of his childhood.

"And you put a snake in your teacher's desk?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep," he replied with a nod. "About a 4 foot rat snake."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, as she sat down and opened her drawer, the bottom of it fell out and dumped the snake right into her lap."

"I bet she screamed didn't she?"

"Let's just say that people two halls over heard her."

The two laughed for a moment. As they continued to talk; the others made their way into the food court. Ammy waved them over and they walked up and grabbed a seat.

"Looks like you two are enjoying each other's company." Lily said as she pulled up her chair.

"Well, that's what you were expecting now wasn't it?" Alex replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Oh, come on…I'm not stupid." He added. Lily shot a look at Ammy.

"What, I didn't tell him anything." She said holding her hands up in front of her.

"Nah, I kinda figured it out on my own." Alex added.

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Lily asked.

"Isn't it obvious? A girl meets a guy her and her friends decide to go to the mall and the guy tags along. The girl's friends think she should get to know the guy a little more and come up with the idea to let the two of them have some alone time together to get to know one another."

"Wow…he figured out your plan down to the last detail, Lily." Maria said.

"Was it really that obvious?" Lily asked.

"Kind of." He replied.

"When did you figure this out?"

"Pretty much when you decided for use to split up for an hour then meet up later." "And you just went along with it?"

"No, cause whether or not if it was your intentions; I would have probably tried to get to know Ammy better anyway."

"Really?" Lily and Ammy asked, both surprised.

"Sure, why not? You seem like such a nice person." He replied to Ammy.

"So basically, my whole plan to leave you two alone to talk was for nothing?"

"Basically, but if you want to think that your plan worked…well, we can just say that's how it happened." He said in a joking tone. Ammy, Maria and Jackie all laughed.

"Oh, ha ha ha." Lily replied. "Can we get something to eat; I'm getting hungry."

They all agreed to get something to eat. Everything was going good until Ammy spotted a small group of guys on the other side of the food court. She tried to hide her face form them, hoping they wouldn't spot her.

"Damn, not those assholes." She said under her breath. Alex glanced at them.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"You know how I told you how my mom likes to flirt with the guys I know as a joke, right?" Alex nodded. "Well, word got around the school and now some of the guys at like my mom is a slut or something like that. Those guys in particular are bad about it. It seems like every day I see them they call my mom a milf or something related."

Alex glanced back at the boys. At the moment, they seemed to be off in their own world; not really paying mind to anyone else. A few minutes later, it appeared one of them noticed Ammy. He pointed her out then the four of them started their way.

"Damnit." Ammy said when she realized they had seen her.

They group of them quickly converged on her and began their teasing.

"Heya Ammy." One of the boys said. "Haven't seen your mom around lately, have ya?" Alex eyed him. He was a growlithe morph dressed in a punk tee shirt and black jeans. From the way he carried himself, Alex assumed he was the quote/unquote leader of their group.

"It's bad enough that I have to deal with you at school, can't you leave me alone for one damn day?" she asked.

"Whoa!" the boy said jokingly. "No need to get hostile. We just wanted to see your mom. Do you think she will be free this weekend?" The boy's buddies snickered. Alex had had enough.

"Leave her alone." He said calmly not even bothering to look at them. The boys rounded to him.

"Well, what do we have here?" the boy asked. "Looks like we got us a hairless here. Look, this doesn't concern you, so why don't you just mind your own business." Alex wasn't impressed. From behind the boy; Alex could see Ammy motioning not for him to instigate things.

"We were trying to enjoy a nice lunch and you had to make come over here and bother us…I'm pretty sure it concerns me." Alex shot back. The lead boy grabbed a firm grip with one hand on Alex's shoulder. With the other, he reached into his pocket and pulled the handle of a switchblade out a few inches.

"This is the last time I'm warning you." The boy threatened. Alex stood up causing the boy to stumble backwards. Alex stared him down, never blinking, and replied in an almost sinister yet clam tone.

"Have you ever killed a man before? How about beat one to death with a baseball bat. Felt his bones break and give way with each swing as he screamed bloody murder as he knew he was going to die?" The whole time, Alex slowly approached the guy, never breaking his gaze.

"How about shot someone? Stared them in the eyes as they looked back up the barrel, knowing that you would be the last thing they would see; that they would never see their loved ones again and you would be the reason for it? I've killed two guys out of self-defense and I don't intend to make it three."

"L-look man." The guy mumbled. "We were only joking. There is no reason to g-get violent."

"Yes, you might have been joking, but she clearly told you to stop; which you didn't. And on a side note; I don't think it is very polite for you to talk of her mother that way. I happen to know her and she is a very nice individual." The guy started to speak but Alex stopped him.

"So, this is the first and only warning I am giving you. Leave Ammy and her mom alone. And if you ever, EVER, think it wise to try to pull a knife on me, well…let's just say it's not going to be a very good day for you. Am I clear?" the guy nodded his head quickly.

"Good…now, if you don't mind; I am kindly asking you to leave. We are still trying to enjoy our lunch."

The boy quickly stumbled away with his friends trailing him. Alex calmly took his seat and resumed eating. The girls looked at him, not wanting to talk first.

"What?" Alex asked as if nothing had happened. Ammy was the first to speak.

"Well, as much I want to thank you for getting rid of them, don't you think that story might have been a bit much?"

"Who said it was just a story?" he replied.

"Wait…you're telling us you actually killed two people?" Lily asked mortified.

"We all have done things in our past that we aren't proud of." Was his reply.

"So, if you killed someone…shouldn't you like be in jail?" Jackie asked.

"I acted out of self-defense. The two guys broke into my house one night while my dad and brother were sleeping. My grandpa was killed by a robber that broke into his house. For all I knew, they could have intended to cause harm to them. And when one pulled a gun on me, I knew for a fact that they intended to do harm and I fought back. Am I happy that I did it? No, but I knew that it was either them or my family and I wasn't about to give up that up without a fight. "

"Yes, I did do a few months in jail, but once they jury had all the info they needed; they found me not guilty of murder and that it was all self-defense. So, they had me released. But enough of all this. Can we please go back to enjoying our lunch?"

They finished their lunch, no one really wanting to talk other than a few words here and there. A little while later, they all agreed to call it a day. Alex pretty much knew this was gonna happen. People always treated him differently once they found out that he had taken someone's life. For now, he just wanted to get back and get some rest. For some reason he was tired.

The car ride back was a bit tense. No one said anything. Maria dropped Ammy and Alex off first. As they climbed out the car; the girls said their goodbyes, but that was it before they drove off. As the two made their way up to the door Alex stopped Ammy.

"Look…I know what I've said can be a bit much and a lot to take in; but can you please not tell your mom. She has been so nice to me and I don't want her to think I'm a killer or something. God forbid she starts thinking that I am a threat to your family. I know it's a lot to ask, but can you please just not tell her?"

Ammy was quiet for a second. She could tell that he was being honest and sincere. Finally, she gave a nod.

"Okay, I won't tell her." She replied.

"Thank you." Alex said as he gave her a brief hug. "That means a lot to me."

They made their way inside. Ammy's mom was waiting in the den watching TV. She looked up as they walked in.

"Hey you two." She said with a smile. "Did you have fun?"

"Yea." Ammy replied. "I'm kinda tired, I think I am going to go lay down for a little."

"Yea, me too." Alex added as they turned to head upstairs.

"Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mrs. Pyres asked.

"Sure." He replied as he turned from the stairs. Mrs. Pyres got up and motioned for him to follow. They went into the kitchen. "What's up?" he asked.

"I did have something to tell you about but I have to ask." She replied.

"Yea?"

"Is everything alright? You two seem kinda quiet."

"Ah, that…it's just been a long day. We went to the mall and hung out."

"Are you sure, because if there is something you need to talk about, you can talk to me."

Alex felt as if she was reading him like a book. It was almost like she knew he was hiding something and that she was going to find out what it was one way or another. Finally, Alex couldn't take anymore. He gave in and told her about the confrontation he had with the boys at the mall.

"Yea," she sighed. "Ammy had told me that things like that were going on. I thank you for look out for her."

Alex didn't respond. He just sat down at the table and held his head in his hands. Mrs. Pyres sat down beside him. She placed a hand gently on his shoulder. He then revealed his dark past. She was not expecting something like that and for a minute, she was caught off guard. Finally, she came to and gave her thoughts.

"Well, you had to do what you had to do." She told him. "Everyone does something that they regret in their life."

"But to do that…?" he replied.

"You were doing what you thought was right. You felt that your family was in danger and you acted accordingly."

"Yea, but still…"

"Alex, we all do things we aren't proud of. I know I have. Back when I was about your age, I couldn't see the joy in things. I was just so depressed. In fact, it pushed me to the breaking point and I ended up trying to kill myself. My mom walked in and stopped me from doing too much damage."

Alex was shocked. He never would have thought of her being someone who would have been suicidal. But then again. He did have thoughts of killing himself after that night he killed those two robbers.

"My parents were heart-broken. They sent me to counseling and all that. It was actually how I met up with a young man who I ended up marrying and having three children with."

Alex looked at her surprised. She just nodded.

"You can't go looking on the negative of all the bad things that have happened in your life. Like with my situation…Yea, I tried to go suicidal and that was a bad thing but I was able to turn my life around and meet the man of my dreams and start a family. Who knows, something might happened down the road that your experience might have prepared you for."

Alex gave a light smile. She was right. He sniffed and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pyres." He said. "You always know what to say."

"Don't mention it." She replied. Alex got up and turned to leave. He then stopped and turned back to her.

"You said you had something to tell me before?" he asked.

"Oh, yea…that." She replied. Her tone of voice changed. She sounded almost like she was trying to avoid bring this up. "I know you said we were planning on staying until you were better and all that and I've couldn't help but notice that you've pretty much made a full recovery."

"Yea….I have you to thank for that." He replied.

"We have gotten used to having you around, hell…Ryan acts like you're his brother. But I know you have thing's you need to get back to. If you really are planning to leave; I just wanted to tell you that a ferry will be leaving from the south docks the morning after tomorrow and that it is heading back to the US." She got up and began to leave the room. She stopped in the doorway.

"I'm not saying you have to leave…or that we want you to. I'm just saying; if you plan on leaving anytime soon." And with that she walked out leaving Alex standing alone in the kitchen.

Alex sighed and stumbled his way up to his room. He flopped down on his bed and kicked off his shoes. He had totally forgotten about going back. He had grown to like staying with the Pyres. It was nice to always have someone there for him. Even though he had a family back home, most of the time he was taking care of himself.

He laid back and sighed. His mind was torn between going home and staying with the Pyres. He knew that either choice would end up leaving a family broken-hearted. It seemed like he laid there for several hours thinking about what to do. In the end, he realized that he would ultimately have to go home. But then he realized that eventually; he could come back to the Pyres.

With that notion, he got up and started digging through his things. He was looking for his phone. He was going to call his dad and brother and tell them he was coming home. His second part of his plan would involve telling the Pyres at dinner that night that he was leaving; but that it wasn't a goodbye forever deal. He was dreading part to of his plan…but in the end; it was what needed to be done.

He sat back on the edge of his bed and flipped open his phone. He clicked it on. It said that his message box and voice mail was full and that he had over three hundred missed calls. He would deal with those later. He pretty much knew they were all about trying to find out where he was.

He scrolled through his contacts and clicked on his dad's number. Pressing call, he held the phone up to his ear and waited. The phone rang once…then twice…then tree times. The phone eventually went into voice mail but Alex never left voice messages so he hung up and tried calling again. The same thing. The phone rang and rang until it went to voice mail. This happened five times before he tried to call his brother.

He scrolled down to his brother's number and called it. Just like with his dad, it rang until it went to voice mail. Same thing with the second and third try. Alex decided to call his brother one last time before trying to call his dad again. It rang a few times and seemed like it was going to voice mail but suddenly, someone answered.

_"Hello…who is this."_ His brother's voice came from the other end. Alex heart skipped a beat. It was good to hear a familiar voice.

"Hey bro. it's me." He replied.

_"Alex? Is that really you?"_

"Yea, it is."

_"Where the hell have you been; everyone was been worried sick looking for you."_ Alex quickly explained what had happened and how he ended up staying with the Pyres until he got better.

_"But you're alright, though?"_

"Yes, I'm fine."

_"That's good."_

"I've been trying to get up with Dad but he isn't answering his phone. When you can, can you tell him that I am head home soon?" He brother didn't respond. Almost instantly, Alex realized that something was wrong. "Zack…what happened? It everything alright..?"

_"Dad's…Dad's dead…"_ was the blunt reply that came over the speaker. It felt as if Alex had been hit in the stomach. He felt suddenly detached from the world.

"What…when, how?"

_"About two days ago; the coast guard had called off their search for your boat. They told Mom and Dad to assume the worst and that there was nothing else they could do. But Dad knew you were still alive. He and mom were out driving around early one morning hoping to get the search going again when Dad lost control of his truck. It left the road and hit a ditch rolling several times before slamming into a tree. EMS said Dad died on impact…Mom died in the ambulance on her way to the hospital…"_

Alex heard it but he didn't want to believe it. His hand holding his phone dropped to his lap. He could faintly hear his brother talking on the other line, but Alex didn't respond.

"No…no, no." he said to himself. "They can't be d-dead. They just can't be." It couldn't have been true. Then Alex thought back to when he had felt that terrible sadness and darkness the other day. Eventually he put two and two together.

With a cry he tossed his phone aside, unintentionally smashing it on the wall. He buried his face into his pillow and began to cry hysterically. He was dimly aware of someone next to him. Looking up through his tear-filled eyes, ne noticed Mrs. Pyres sitting on the bed next to him; Ammy was standing in the doorway.

Mrs. Pyres asked him what was wrong and after a moment; he managed to tell her before collapsing back into his pillow. He could feel her hand rubbing his back in a comforting manor but he ignored it. After what seems like almost an hour, he noticed that Mrs. Pyres had set him up. She was resting her back against his headboard and had wrapped her arms around him and held him close in a motherly fashion.

Distraught and exhausted, Alex fell asleep. But it was a restless sleep. All he could think about was what he was going to do with his life. If he went back home, would he be blamed for his parents deaths. Would he be told that if he had only called home sooner and said he was okay that this would have been avoided? Or what if he had stayed with the Pyres? Would his brother think he was running away, trying to hide from his responsibilities?

Alex did know what to do. Eventually he awoke in the early morning hours. He was alone. He wrapped his arms around his knees, a single tear rolled down his cheek. He caught it on the back of his hand and looked at it in the dim light. It reminding him of a life and how fragile it was. How it almost seemed to sparkle or shine only to be wiped away or fall to a surface below. Laid back out on the bed and sniffed again.

_"What do I do know?"_ he thought to himself.

* * *

_**Next Chapter: Departure: The Conclusion to A Whole New World**_


	7. Ch 7: Departure

_**Chapter 7: Departure**_

Alex rolled over and looked at the clock. It read 4:40AM. He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but he was unable to. Sitting up on the edge of his bed, Alex scanned the dim room. His eyes first stopped on his shoes, discarded carelessly from when he slipped them off yesterday. Next, he spotted his phone. It was busted into several pieces when he had thrown it last night.

With a sigh, Alex got up and scooped up the remains of his phone and tossed them into the waste bin next to his desk. He stretched and arched his back, groaning when it popped. He shuffled down the hall to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror.

"Gah." Alex said with an exhale when he saw his reflection. His eyes were red and puffy, his hair was disheveled and all over. Combined with his 5 o'clock shadow; it all made him look like he had a really rough night. He splashed some cold water on his face and combed his hair. Once done, he made his way down to the kitchen.

There was a pot of coffee heating on the counter. Alex poured himself a cup. As he did, he noticed that someone was in the back yard. In the faint light; he could tell it was Mrs. Pyres. Taking a sip from his coffee, Alex made his way through the back door.

Mrs. Pyres was sitting under a tree that grew atop an average hill on the far side of their yard. From there, you could see the ocean about five blocks over. It stretched to the horizon. Alex slowly approached and leaned against the tree.

"Morning." Mrs. Pyres said. She sounded like she had just woken up also.

"Morning." He replied in a rough tone.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know anymore."

The wind picked up. It carried the scent of the sea as well are the smell of rain. On the horizon, lightning streaked through ominous grey clouds. The distant thunder was but a dull rumble.

"Looks like a storm is blowing in." Alex said.

"Yea…they said that it was going to be raining pretty much all day today on the weather." Lavender replied. Alex crouched and scooped up a handful of loose, fine soil. Carefully, he let it trickle through the bottom of his fist and be blown away on the breeze.

"It's heading right for us." He observed. "I would say we have maybe an hour before the first bands should make landfall."

"You can tell all that just from looking at falling dirt?"

"It was a trick my dad had showed my while camping. Whichever way the soil blows is the way the wind is blowing and therefore the direction the storm is most-likely moving. As for the time it should hit; I just counted the number of seconds between when I saw the lightning to when I heard the thunder. Each second is about one mile roughly…so I would guess that the storm is roughly four to five miles out and but the current rate it is traveling; it should hit in about an hour if not just over."

"Wow…" She replied. "That is pretty good."

They stayed quiet for several minutes, the breeze growing ever stronger as the minutes passed by; the low rumble of thunder growing more and more intense. Lavender got to her feet, stretching a little as she did. She looked over at Alex. He was staring vacantly off into the approaching storm. He seemed like a totally different person compared to the seemingly innocent young man he was during the first few weeks of her meeting him.

She walked up and gave him a warm embrace. She held him for several minutes hoping to provide some sort of comfort in the dark state of mind he was apparently in. Alex did not return the hug but rather just accepted it. She looked at into his eyes. He was still staring off into the storm. A flash of distant lightning revealed a lone tear rolling down his cheek.

The sight was enough to make her eyes grow moist. With one final hug, she turned and made her way inside. Alex remained there as if rooted to the hill like the tree he stood beneath. For some odd reason; a Rise Against song came to mind. It wasn't long before he found himself singing it in a somber tone.

"_Bang, bang go the coffin nails, like a breath exhaled; then gone forever. It seems like just yesterday, how did I miss the red flags raise? Think back, the days we left. We braved these bitter storms together. But brought to his knees he cried. But on his feet he cried. What God would damn a heart? And what God drove us apart? What God could…?"_

"_Make it stop, let this end…Eighteen years pushed to the ledge. It's come to this, a weightless step. On the way down singing…"_

Memories of him fishing with his dad, hanging out with his brother, and even the few memories he shared with his mom began to rush by. Each one felt like another blow to his heart. He placed a hand on the tree to hold himself up as he swayed. A light rain had begun to fall; yet he continued to sing in same slow and somber tone.

"_Bang, bang from the closet walls. The schoolhouse halls; the shotgun's loaded. Push me and I'll push back. I'm done asking, I demand. From a nation under God; I feel its love like a cattle prod. I'm born free, but still they hate. I'm born me, no, I can't change."_

"_It's always darkest just before the dawn. So stay awake with me, let's prove them wrong…The cold river washed him away, but how could we forget? The gatherings hold candles, but not their tongues."_

Then, the memories he had with the Pyres also came to mind. And even thought he was in pain; he still managed to crack a light smile at a few of them. They reminded him that no matter how bad life got…it would eventually get better. That it would always get better. He would just have to hold on until it did.

"_And too much blood has flown from the wrist…Of the children shamed for those they chose to kiss. Who will rise to stop the blood? We're coming for, insisting on, a different beat, yeah, a brand new song."_

"_Make it stop, make this end. This life chose me; I'm not lost in sin. And proud I stand of who I am. I plan to go on living…Make it stop, let this end. All these years pushed to the ledge. But proud I stand of who I am. I plan to go on living…"_

By the time he stopped, the rain fell at a steady drizzle. Downing the last of his coffee with a sniff; Alex began to make his way inside. He set his cup on the counter and made his way to the den where he sat down to watch the news. The forecast looked like it would be raining all day; just like Mrs. Pyres had said. After they showed some reports on local news, they began talking about world news. He was somewhat shocked by the main story.

"_Now, out of America, we have breaking news about a story we have been following for about a month now. As you may recall, we told you about an 18-year-old boy who had gone missing while boating. Alexander Jones was reported missing on April 8__th__ when he failed to return home from a boating trip."_

"_We have some tragic news on this story. As we reported a few days ago, the coast guard had called off the search for Alex when they had failed to find any signs of him or his boat. The next morning, both of Alex's parents were killed in a car crash. About 5 am that morning, the truck they were in left the road, flipped in a ditch and came to rest after slamming into a tree."_

"_Officials said that the dad was pronounced dead on arrival. The mother died on the way to the hospital. Alex's brother has not wanted to talk to reporters on this matter; though they say the last thing he had said on the matter was that Alex was alive and well; that he had received a call from Alex two days after the loss of their parents."_

"_Police say that Zackary Jones is not saying much about the call he had with his brother; only that Alex had told him that he was alive and well and that he would be returning home within a matter of days."_

Alex sat there in a daze as he dimly hung on to the reporter's story. He suddenly came to his senses when the TV turned off. He looked up to see Mrs. Pyres holding the remote. Alex got up and began making his way towards the stairs. She tried to give him a hug but he stopped her.

"I think I'm just going to go back to bed." He said before making his way up the stairs.

_"Alex…"_ Lavender said to herself as she watched him walk away. She thought about following him to see if he was okay but then she stopped herself. Maybe all her attempts to comfort him were actually making things worse. She decided to leave him be for now and made her way to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

Ammy awoke to a steady drum of rain on her window. She sat up in bed and stretched, yawing as she did. She began thinking of Alex and how he was when he realized that he had lost his parents. Ammy kinda knew how he felt. After all, she had lost her dad; but she couldn't imagine losing her mom also.

_"I wonder if he is alright?"_ she thought to herself as she got up. She got dressed and then began to make her way down the hall. She stopped outside Alex's door. It was closed like it always was when he slept. She was about to open it to check on him when her mom suddenly appeared at the end of the hall.

"Ammy…" she said quietly as she approached. "Don't go in there."

"What?" she asked. "I was just checking on Alex."

"I know." Her mom said as she placed her hands on her shoulders and guided her away from his door. "But right now, I think it is best we just leave him alone."

Ammy was going to protest but she eventually gave in with a nod. She followed her mom downstairs. Breakfast was almost done, so she took a seat at the table. A few minutes later, Ryan made his way into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. They all gathered at the table and started to eat. After a few minutes, Ryan asked:

"Isn't Alex eating, too?"

"Alex isn't feeling well this morning." Lavender said.

"Is he sick?"

"Something like that…but enough of that. Eat your breakfast."

Ammy was the first to finish. She washed her plate before deciding to return to her room also. The first thing she did was add a new entry in her diary. Once she had finished with that; she turned on some music and sat in the window and watched the rain as it washed everything down.

She wasn't sure on how long she sat there. It only seemed like a few minutes but in reality; she had sat there for almost two hours. Getting up, she stretched her stiff and asleep legs. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." she called out. The door opened to reveal Lily. She smiled softly as she entered the room.

"Hey Ammy." She said.

"Lily, what are you doing here?" she replied.

"I thought I would come over for a bit." She explained. "Your mom let me in and said you were up in your room."

"Ahh…"

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time."

"Actually, I am glad you came. I could use a friend to talk to."

"Why, what's up?"

Ammy proceeded to tell Lily about what had happened recently. She told her about Alex's parents and how she was worried about him. Upon hearing this, she too was a little concerned for Alex.

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"In his room." She replied. "I think he may be sleeping but I don't know. I was going to check on him this morning but my mom stopped me and told me to leave him alone for now. She's been worried about him a lot also."

"I don't blame her."

Ammy sighed and fell silent. After a few minutes, she looked up at Lily.

"So, what are you up for today?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." Lily replied. "We can't really do much with it raining like it is." As if to put an emphasis on her point, a loud boom of thunder sounded.

"Yea, you have a point."

Just then, the sound of a guitar could be heard melded in with the sound of the rain. Ammy got up and opened her door. It was coming from Alex's room. She and Lily crept up and carefully opened the door. Alex was sitting on the edge of his bed, slowly strumming away. After a minute, he started singing.

"_Another day in this carnival of souls._

_Another night settles in as quickly as it goes._

_The memories are shadows, ink on the page._

_And I can't seem to find my way home."_

"_And it's almost like…_

_Your heaven's trying everything…_

_Your heaven's trying everything…_

_To keep me out."_

"_All the places I've been and things I've seen._

_A million stories that made up a million shattered dreams._

_The faces of people I'll never see again._

_And I can't seem to find my way home."_

"_Cause it's almost like…_

_Your heaven's trying everything to break me down._

_Cause it's almost like…_

_Your heaven's trying everything to keep me out."_

He then went into a little solo. As Ammy listened, she felt a light pang in her heart. She guessed that it was because she knew what he was going through and could relate to the pain that he was feeling.

"_Cause it's almost like…_

_Your heaven's trying everything to break me down._

_Cause it's almost like…_

_Your heaven's trying everything…_

_Your heaven's trying everything to break me down…_

_To break me down…_

_To break me down."_

"_Your heaven's trying everything..._

_Your heaven's trying everything to break me down."_

And with that, he finished with a somber last note. He then proceeded to sit there for a minute, just looking down. Ammy gathered up her courage and pushed the door all the way open.

"I didn't know you played the guitar." She said. "Or sang for that matter." Alex gave a little startled jump.

"How long were you standing there?" he asked.

"Since when you started playing the song." Alex looked down with a kind of embarrassed look. "Don't be like that. I thought you played very well." She added as she took a seat on the bed next to him.

"Me too." Added Lily.

Alex didn't say anything. He just looked down at his guitar; almost as if he was unsure of what he should do next. Ammy got an idea that might not only pass the time, but might also get Alex out of his depressed state of mind.

"What else can you play?" she asked.

"Ehh…I can play a few songs." He replied.

"Like what?"

"Mainly just some rock songs…but I know a few others. Even a few in Japanese."

"Can you play some more for us?" she asked, giving Lily a slight nudge.

"Uh…yea, can you play some more?" Lily added.

"I guess I could." He replied.

For the next few hours, Alex played a multitude of songs. Ammy knew a few, and then there were some that she didn't know. A lot of them were kind of dark, depressing songs. She figured that it was only because he was still thinking about the loss of his parents. They stopped when there was a knock at the door. It was Mrs. Pyres.

"Lunch is ready if you all are hungry." She said.

They all agreed that they could eat and decided to make their way down to the kitchen…even Alex. They sat at the table occasionally giving a few words here and there. Outside, the rain continued to fall.

"So, what do you have planned for this afternoon?" Ammy asked Lily.

"Well, I was sort of thinking about seeing if I can stay over tonight." She replied.

"But tomorrow is Monday, don't we have school?"

"No, remember. Tomorrow is one of staff development days or something."

"Oh, yea…that's right. Is it alright if she stays the night, Mom?"

"I don't mind." Lavender replied. "Just as long as her mom is alright with it."

"I can call her real quick." Lily stated before excusing herself and going into the den to call her mom. A few minutes later, she returned. "She said that it is okay, but that I best behave."

"I know you will." Lavender added with a light chuckle.

After lunch Alex, Ammy, and Lily went back upstairs. They all just sat around and talked about different things while Alex played his guitar some more. After a little while, Ammy asked him a question.

"Do you know any songs by Evanescence?"

"Yea, I know a few." He replied. "How do you know about them?"

"The main station I listen to plays a mix of local rock as well as some from the US."

"Ahh…okay. What song did you have in mind?"

"Bring me to Life."

"Yea, I know that one. That's a good one."

"Could you play it while I sang?"

"Sure." He replied, some-what shocked. The last thing he expected was for her to sing. "I can sing the back up if you want."

"Okay." She replied with a nod.

He started off with the intro before Ammy sang out.

_[Ammy] "How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_

_Leading you down into my core_

_Where I've become so numb._

_Without a soul_

_My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold_

_Until you find it there and lead it back home."_

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] Save me._

_[Ammy] Call my name and save me from the dark._

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Bid my blood to run._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Before I come undone._

_[Alex] Save me. _

_[Ammy] Save me from the nothing I've become._

_[Ammy] "Now that I know what I'm without_

_You can't just leave me._

_Breathe into me and make me real_

_Bring me to life."_

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] Save me._

_[Ammy] Call my name and save me from the dark._

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Bid my blood to run._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Before I come undone._

_[Alex] Save me. _

_[Ammy] Save me from the nothing I've become._

_[Ammy] Bring me to life._

_[Alex] I've been living a lie._

_There's nothing inside._

_[Ammy] Bring me to life._

_[Ammy] Frozen inside without your touch_

_Without your love, darling._

_Only you are the life among the dead._

_[Alex] All of this time, I can't believe I couldn't see_

_Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me_

_[Ammy] I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems_

_Got to open my eyes to everything_

_[Alex] Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul_

_Don't let me die here_

_There must be something more_

_[Ammy] Bring me to life_

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Wake me up inside._

_[Alex] Save me._

_[Ammy] Call my name and save me from the dark._

_[Alex] Wake me up._

_[Ammy] Bid my blood to run._

_[Alex] I can't wake up._

_[Ammy] Before I come undone._

_[Alex] Save me. _

_[Ammy] Save me from the nothing I've become._

_[Ammy] Bring me to life._

_[Alex] I've been living a lie._

_There's nothing inside._

_[Ammy] Bring me to life…_

They finished looking face to face with each other. After a moment, they both looked away, blushing slightly. Lily cheered.

"Wow! That was awesome! You guys could go places with talent like that." She stated.

They continued to hang out until dinner was ready. Then they all went downstairs to eat. Once finished they once again returned to their rooms, but this time it was to get cleaned up and ready for bed. Alex decided to let the girls get their showers out-of-the-way before he got his. Once he was finished with his, he retreated to his room and stretched out on his bed. The rain seemed to be getting heavier. The booms of thunder almost deafening at times.

Ammy sat at her desk messing around on her computer while Lily sat on her bed reading a book that she had brought along. A sudden loud crash of thunder made them jump. The lights dimmed for a moment. Ammy hoped that they didn't lose power.

"So, have you giving any thoughts about you and Alex?" Lily asked.

"What do you mean?" Ammy asked.

"Seriously? How many times are we going to go over this? I know there is something going on between you two. I can tell by the way you two looked at each other earlier when you two were singing."

"Gah. I'm getting tired of you pushing this matter." Ammy said somewhat annoyed. "Why does it matter so much to you if there is something going on between us?"

"Chill, Ammy. I just want to make sure thinks aren't getting out of hand."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Well, it kinda was my idea for you to try to hook up with him. I just don't want things to go sour if Alex turns out to be a prick."

"Well, thanks…but you don't have to worry that much. Alex is a good guy. I doubt he would even do anything bad to me."

"Okay, just remember…I'm just looking out for ya. And who knows; if you two don't hit it off, maybe I could have a try at him." She said that last sentence with a grin and giggled.

"Lily!" she said somewhat shocked before she grabbed up a pillow from the bed and swatted the laughing Buizel-morph. They went back to doing what they were doing. Before long, it was almost 11. Ammy couldn't believe that she had stayed up so late and didn't even notice.

"Damn, it's that late?" she asked. She turned to Lily to find her already asleep; her book open lying open on her chest. Ammy smiled and got up. She took Lily's book and put it on the bed side table and cut the lamp off. She laid on the side of the bed, hoping not to fall out; Lily was taking up much of the space. She clicked on her radio to drown out the storm outside and tried to get some sleep.

But she couldn't. For some reason…she just couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried…she still couldn't. She quietly got up and made her way to the kitchen. She filled a glass with some cold water. She watched the storm from the window as she drank it down in three large gulps. She set her glass by the sink and made her way back to bed.

She stopped outside Alex's door. She couldn't help but think about him. After a moment, she decided to check on him. Carefully, she opened his door and crept inside, shutting it behind her. She slowly made her way to his bed. In the dim light of the lightning flashes, he appeared to be asleep. She gently sat down on the edge of the bed. Alex suddenly jumped. His sudden movement almost made Ammy fall off the bed.

"Ammy?" he asked faintly. "What are you doing in here? You about gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry." She breathed once she managed to calm herself. "I thought I would check on you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I just needed to do something to calm myself."

"Can't sleep?"

"Yea."

"Me neither. This storm isn't helping."

"I know what you mean. I tried to get some sleep, but it's hard with this storm, especially when Lily passed out and took up most of my bed." Alex chuckled a little.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want." He said without thinking. He only thought about it after the words left his mouth. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that." He quickly added.

"Relax…I know what you were going at." She reassured. "Thank you, that's a sweet offer."

"I just thought, well, I don't know. I remembered when I was younger and I couldn't sleep; especially during storms, it would help it someone was there with me. It…it just made me feel better, like I was safer knowing that there was someone watching over me."

"I know what you mean." She admitted. "When I was little, my brother used to do the same thing for me all the time. He would stay with me until I fell asleep."

"Well, like I said…if you want, you can sleep in here. There is plenty of room." Ammy smiled softly at Alex. He slid of giving her enough room. She laid down and snuggled up next to him.

"Thank you, Alex." She said quietly as she gave him a hug.

"Any time." He replied returning the hug. Alex went to roll over but couldn't because Ammy hadn't released him from her hug yet. Without even thinking, she placed a hand on his cheek and gave him a soft quick kiss. The action left both of them briefly stunned.

"I'm…I'm sorry." She managed to say. It felt as if her ears were burning with embarrassment. Before she could turn away from him, he wrapped his arm around her saying, "Don't be." Before pulling her into a long and gentle kiss. The kiss lasted longer than either had expected due to the fact that Ammy didn't want it to end suddenly. When their lips finally parted, Ammy hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Alex…" she breathed. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replied. It wasn't long before their weariness got the best of both of them and they soon drifted off to sleep.

Lavender woke suddenly. She wasn't sure what it was that woke her. She tried to recall if she had been dreaming or not; maybe that was what woke her. The storm had now died down to a calm shower. She got up and decided to check on Ryan. He was unusually calm. The last big storm they had had him begging to crawl into bed with her.

She slowly made her way down the hall to Ryan's door. Peeking inside, she saw him sound asleep. She gently closed to door and started back towards hers. But something stopped her. She decided to check on Ammy. She made her way to Ammy's door and looked in. Lily was out cold in Ammy's bed, but Ammy wasn't to be seen. She then went and looked in on Alex.

In the poor lighting, she could make out both Ammy and Alex. Both were sleeping in each others warm embrace, light smiles on each of their faces. The sight made her smile. She was glad to see her daughter happy and that Alex was likewise. Pulling the door up, Lavender slowly made her way back to her room. She climbed back into bed and in mere moments, she was fast asleep.

Alex was the first to wake. Ammy was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He carefully got up out of bed, doing his best not to wake her. It was 6 am and the faint light of the sun was starting to shine. Alex quickly got dressed and gathered up a few things. He remembered how Mrs. Pyres has told him about the ferry that was leaving the docks and heading to the US and he didn't want to miss it.

Slipping on his shoes, he quietly made his way to the bedroom door. With one last look at Ammy, he closed it behind him and made his way down the hall. He slowly made his way down the stairs and towards the front door. He stopped when he thought he heard someone moving around. When all fell silent again, he made his way outside and pulled the door shut behind him.

_"I have to do this."_ He said to himself as he made his was down the walkway. He began making his way up the road to the docks, doing his best to avoid the puddles left from last night's storm. _"I have to do this…"_

It was a good little walk to the docks but it didn't take Alex as long as he had expected. The ferry was still there. Dockhands were busily loading cargo aboard the vessel. Some people were already boarding. _"I have to do this…"_

Ammy woke to find herself alone in Alex's bed. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It read 6:46. Sitting up she stretched and yawned. Before getting up, she aimlessly glanced around the room. She couldn't help but notice that a few of Alex's things were gone. Almost instantly, she thought that something was up.

She thought back to how she had overheard her mom talking to Alex about the ferry leaving this morning. Suddenly she jumped up and rushed down the hall. _"Please, let me be wrong."_ She tried to reassure herself. _"He couldn't have left…he couldn't have."_

She rushed into the kitchen to find her mom there, but Alex wasn't. Her mom looked up at her a look of worry on her face.

"Honey, what's wrong." Lavender asked.

"Is Alex up yet?" she asked.

"Not that I know of. Wait, you slept with him last night. He wasn't in bed when you woke up?"

"No, wait…what? How did you…."

"Woke up late last night and checked in on everyone…but you say he wasn't in bed."

"No. I woke up and noticed that some of his things missing. He didn't leave without telling me did he?" she asked. Her voice starting to feel with worry.

"I don't think he did. If so, I don't know where he would have…" she suddenly stopped when she remembered her talk with him about the ferry. "I think I know where he might be."

"Where?"

"Get in the car."

"What?"

"Just get in the car, I'll explain on the way."

Lavender grabbed her car keys and the two of them hurried to the garage. Jumping in the car, Lavender quickly backed out the driveway and made her way to the docks.

"So you think he is leaving?" Ammy asked.

"I don't know…I'm not sure."

"Why didn't he say anything?"

"I don't know…"

The car swerved slightly as it hit a wet patch in the road, but Lavender was able to maintain control. They quickly made their way to the docks. She was just glad that there wasn't a lot of traffic. A few minutes later, they slid to a stop at the docks. Ammy practically jumped out of the car before it even came to a full stop.

She rushed towards the ferry. Tears began to form in her eyes when she noticed that it was slowly starting to pull away from the dock.

"Wait!" she called out. "You can't leave yet!"

Smoke began to bellow from the ferry's smokestack and it began to pick up speed. Ammy ran as fast as she could but she was too late. She could only stop at the railings on the dock and watch as the ferry started to make its way towards the horizon.

"He's…he's gone." She said quietly to herself. The sudden realization hit her and she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Her mom quickly kneeled next to her and wrapped her in a hug. She rubbed Ammy's back and tried to comfort her the best she could, all the while trying to hold back her own tears.

"How could he just leave like that without telling me?" Ammy cried out. Lavender didn't have the answer. All she could do was help Ammy to her feet and lead her to a nearby bench where she sat down and begun to cry even more.

_"Damnit, Alex."_ Lavender said to herself. _"I hope you're proud of yourself."_

The two of them sat there staring off into the horizon at the ferry; it growing ever smaller. Everything seemed almost surreal, like it couldn't have been really happening. Ammy cried into her mother's chest, not knowing what else to do.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" a voice called out. They both looked up to see Alex making his way towards them. Ammy blinked several times, unsure if she was really seeing him.

"Alex!" she cried out jumping to her feet. She ran towards him and almost knocked him backwards with a hug. Before he could respond she pulled away only to slap him with a power right hand. The blow stunned both Alex and Lavender. As Alex staggered backwards; Ammy quickly embraced him again, this time locking her lips with his.

"Don't you ever do something like that again." She managed to say once they parted.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, wincing as he felt his cheek.

"Leaving like that without telling me anything. I thought you had left for good."

"What, no." he tried to explain. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You're not?" Ammy asked.

"No."

"Then why did you come down to the docks?"

"Because, I was sending some things back home to my brother. I was making sure that they were able to get it all packaged up and onboard as well as get a letter to him saying that I wasn't returning home yet."

"Wait…so you're staying?" she asked dumbfounded.

"What can I say? This place sorta grew on me. As did you all."

Ammy wrapped her arms around him and gave him another kiss. Lavender began herding them back towards the car, hoping to keep Ammy from hitting Alex again. She had a look about her like she might try to again.

"Come on you two." She said. "Let's get home."

* * *

_**Songs:  
**_Rise Against - Make it Stop (September's Children)

Five Finger Death Punch - Far From Home

Evanescence - Wake Me Up


End file.
